Castellanos grabs first West Ham goal with ‘bullet header’ in extra-time
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Freddie Potts may have West Ham in his blood but, with his father both a club legend and part of the coaching team, that brings about its own difficulties.
Potts, 22, has been a revelation this season after spending the previous two seasons on loan at Wycombe Wanderers and Portsmouth.
Now a fully-fledged member of the West Ham senior team, the latest member of the Potts family to represent The Hammers has become crucial to their hopes of remaining in the Premier League.Playing for West Ham – who host Sunderland on Saturday live on TNT Sports and discovery+ – has always been a dream of Potts, following his father Steve’s 17-year spell at the club and watching older brother Dan come through there.
With his dad as coach now, though, the younger Potts is keen to ensure that the relationship remains distant at the training ground so he can earn the respect of his team-mates on merit.
Steve Potts played for West Ham for 17 years and is now coaching the first team.
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Speaking to TNT Sports pundit and former West Ham player Joe Cole, who played alongside both Steve and Dan in his two spells at the club, Potts explained how he goes about dealing with his dad at the Academy of Football.
“It all started here for all of us as well, my dad a long time ago now, but my brother more recently and then we are all born and raised around the area, all lived in Romford and I think this club was where we all wanted to play and we have all done that,” Potts said.
“For me and the sort of relationship that me and my dad have now, especially with him as one of the coaches in the first team as well, we like to keep our distance as much as we can.
“You don’t really want the rest of the lads to look at you and think, ‘Oh you are leaning on someone you already know in the coaches’ office.’ And it is really not like that.
“Luckily, we don’t really do that at the training ground but when I get home, obviously, I lean to him for advice and things I can work on and stuff.
“For me and him it is about keeping an arm’s length and letting me do my own thing.”
It has been a challenging season for West Ham thus far, with the club five points from safety in 18th position ahead of Saturday’s lunchtime visit of Sunderland to the London Stadium.
There have been some highlights despite their difficult run of form, though, notably Potts’ first start in a 3-1 win over Newcastle in November, and a crucial 2-1 away win at Tottenham last weekend, which reduced the gap to Nottingham Forest, who occupy 17th place.
Those are two results Potts is particularly fond of – although he did not feature against Spurs – and he is hopeful there are more to come in the near future.
“I remember walking out at the home stadium and all my family were there, everyone was watching and thinking right, this is it, this is what I have always wanted to do,” he added.
“I just focused on doing my job for the team and doing what the manager asked of me and, thankfully, people were saying that I did alright, so it was a good day.
“If you get a win, it boosts confidence – especially if you are in the position that we are in the league. One win can completely change things confidence wise for the players and for everyone involved.
“We are looking forward to this game at the weekend [against Sunderland], a good opportunity to build on what we did last weekend.”
When is West Ham v Sunderland?
West Ham welcome Sunderland to the London Stadium on Saturday, January 24.
Kick-off is at 12:30 UK time, with live coverage on TNT Sports 1, TNT Sports Ultimate and discovery+ starting from 11:00.
How to watch West Ham v Sunderland?
West Ham v Sunderland will be live on TNT Sports 1, TNT Sports Ultimate and discovery+.
TNT Sports is available across all major TV platforms, offering a line-up of up to four TV channels (TNT Sports 1, TNT Sports 2, TNT Sports 3, TNT Sports 4), and up to six digital or red-button channels (TNT Sports 5 to 10), and TNT Sports Ultimate plus TNT Sports Box Office HD.
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