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Potts: Align yourself with our values and you'll flourish
Written by Joseph Nelson
Before Newcastle United Women returned for pre-season in the summer, short clips emerged online of defender Charlotte Potts and other squad members, such as youngsters Daisy Burt and Becky Ferguson, working hard on their fitness.
Potts has proven herself as a leader in the dressing room ever since she returned to her childhood club last year and, having also previously been a coach, feels a duty to help instil belief in her team-mates.
"My background in football is coaching as well as playing and over the years, coaching in a college environment has been focused on coaching players of that age," she explained.
"But when it comes to players that age it is about developing their confidence and that confidence allows them to enjoy their football more. Therefore they learn more and absorb like a sponge.
"It isn't just players that age, we all have to have that confidence instilled within us from the likes of coaches and older players to take that on the pitch.
"If you play with doubt, it just produces overthinking and that is something you can't afford to have when you are playing a football game."
Newcastle Women saw much change in the summer, becoming a full-time club for the very first time and preparing for their inaugural season in the FA Women's National League Northern Premier Division.
Despite the alterations, which included an influx of players and additions to the coaching staff, the Magpies have started the new campaign in scintillating form.
Ahead of Sunday's trip to face Liverpool Feds, Potts spoke about the unity within the dressing room and the way the summer arrivals have bought into the culture Becky Langley is creating.
"The way I see football is a giant game of chess," she added.
"Each player is a different chess piece and the way we have been playing this season we have been learning each other's strengths and each other's roles and that's now showing on the pitch.
"I genuinely believe we understand each other a lot more now, and that's not just because we are playing together.
"We are spending more time together in a full-time setting. We are having breakfast and lunch together. We understand each other more because the qualities you have on the pitch are not just what you have as a player, but they are qualities you have as a person as well. This helps everyone in the team connect.
"If you look at a club and the way a club runs it follows the core values. Coming from the North East, those values are already ingrained within me.
"It is all about aligning yourself with the core values that the club has and once you do that, you grow."
The full interview with Potts was first published in Wednesday's special Champions League edition of the Magpies' matchday programme, UNITED
Photograph courtesy of Colin Lock
"The way I see football is a giant game of chess. Each player is a different chess piece and the way we have been playing this season we have been learning each other's strengths and each other's roles and that's now showing on the pitch."