The major Portsmouth factor behind West Ham loanee’s arrival as Blues get Championship season off the mark

And the 21-year-old has revealed the backing of the Fratton faithful as a ‘major factor’ behind his decision to join John Mousinho’s men on a season-long loan from West Ham.

Pompey picked up their first Championship triumph of the season after Potts and Callum Lang helped the Blues to a 2-1 win against QPR at Loftus Road.

Despite sitting 23rd in the standings ahead of the contest, 1,744 of the Fratton faithful made the short trip to the capital in a sold-out away end as they went in search of their maiden three points of the campaign.

The travelling contingent from PO4 were non-stop in their support of Mousinho and his men, with a party-like atmosphere ensuing at full-time.

And that continuous backing from the Fratton faithful was a key reason behind why Potts opted to join Pompey in the summer window.

He told The News: ‘Massive. I’ve said it after every game with how important they, how good they are as a set of fans and it really helps us as a set of players to really fight all the way through the game. Especially in the last 15 minutes when things were getting tough and we really had to dig in. 

‘We had the fans singing and getting behind us and we really had to give it everything for them and for us. They are a major factor why I came to Pompey. 

‘I played at Fratton Park last season and thought ‘wow what a place to play in front of all these fans’. They are so passionate about their club and myself and the rest of the players all love to play for the shirt and play for the fans and that’s what we did today.’

Potts bagged his first goal of the season since his summer switch after he converted Lang’s cross to level the game on the 18th minute.

And the young midfielder has made it clear he wants to add more goals to his play.

He added: ‘I think it was just my position. I’ve always liked to improve on that side of my game, I try to get in and around the box more often and thankfully the ball landed to me and put a firm side foot on it and it was such a good moment.

‘Unbelievable. I loved it. My family were in the crowd, I could see them amongst all the Pompey fans who were unbelievable today and really supported us well. It’s such a great feeling and I'm happy to get off the mark.’