TOM INCE will always be indebted to dad Paul's help and support but their relationship was a bit strained when he became his lodger.
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| Tom Ince is Derby's second-top scorer in the Championship this term with eight goals in 25 games |
Ince junior was already playing for Blackpool when Paul took over as manager - and promptly announced he was moving into his son's apartment in Lytham St Annes.
"My mum was quite pleased to get him out of the house," recalls Tom. "But he moved in with me and cramped my style. There's no chance of breaking any curfews if you're living with the manager!
"I thought about staying over at the training ground or stadium sometimes because I was spending so much time with him.
"Who did the cooking? Well, my dad can't cook, I'm not the best either, so we lived mostly on takeaways. I can tell you we had a few visits down to Blackpool promenade. Seriously, it was a good time, we're good friends as well as being father and son."
It was actually the second time Tom had been managed by Paul. The first was when he was on loan at Notts County from Liverpool and the manager, Craig Short, was sacked. He had no inkling who was being lined up as a replacement until a call from his mum, Claire.
"I finished training one day, looked at my phone and had five or six missed calls from my mum," he says. "I thought 'What does she want?' rang her back and she asked me 'Have you met the new manager yet?' As I pulled up outside the stadium, my dad was walking out the front door. I said to him 'What are you doing here?' And he replied 'I'm your new gaffer!'"
The Derby winger admits being the son of a famous player has its negatives but many more positives.
And he knows the family connection will mean the spotlight will be on him tomorrow when the Rams take on Manchester United, where his dad enjoyed the most successful period of his 20-year career, in an intriguing FA Cup fourth round tie.
"The negative is that the bar is set so high after all my dad did in the game, playing for the top clubs and captaining England," says Tom. "People just see 'son of Paul' and that will never go away. Sometimes it annoys me but mostly it is pride at how far he went in the game and how good he was.
"But the positive side is that I have always had someone to support me, not only as a dad but also as someone who played at the highest level, who has been there and done it, and knows what it takes. That's where I have been very fortunate.
"A lot of young players fall by the wayside because they don't have the right guidance or don't listen to the advice. My dad was pretty strict with me."
Ince recalls times when playing as a school kid at Liverpool's Academy, Paul would reduce him to tears.
"When you're that age it is all about having fun," he says. "But sometimes he would scream in my face and tell me I needed to do this and that if I wanted to reach the required level. I would go home crying to my mum and she would have a go back at him.
"But I look back at it now and think it's no good getting praise all the time. It builds you up for the time when you are a professional when you are going to get criticism, whether it's from your manager, the media or the fans. You have to be able to take it on the chin and make sure you learn and improve.
"Of course it's been hard. I play a different position and I'm a totally different player to my old man, so that helps. But the name will always be there. I'm an Ince and I'm proud to be that. He's given me a challenge and a bar to reach and hopefully one day I can reach that."
Friday's cup-tie will be a good pointer to where the former England under 21 international - who joined Derby from Hull for £4.75m last summer - is on football's learning curve.
He will be 24 the day after the game so was too young to remember his dad at United, although he has watched all the videos. His earliest memories are of Paul playing for Inter Milan in the San Siro but he says tomorrow's cup-tie is a special day for the family.
"We're all looking forward to it," he says. "We haven't won since Boxing Day but all the pressure will be on United. Promotion is our priority so we can go out and enjoy ourselves. Hopefully we're catching them at a good time given all the talk about Louis Van Gaal.
"A goal and a win would be the perfect birthday present. Personally, though, I wouldn't mind a replay because I've never actually played at Old Trafford.
"There's a YouTube clip of me as a toddler kicking a ball around on the pitch with Kasper Schmeichel [son of Peter] and Alex Bruce [son of Steve] when our dads were all playing there. But to play there for real would be fantastic."
And, no doubt, bring all the memories flooding back for Ince senior.
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