It was great to witness Huddersfield Town steal a late winner against Watford FC but doubly delightful it was struck by Tom Ince.

The 26-year-old has come in for a fair amount of criticism from some quarters this season since sealing an £8.5m move from Derby County last summer.

And after the game Ince, with his usual refreshing and articulate honesty, freely admitted his performances have left a lot to be desired this campaign.

This forthright approach for self-assessment and critique, as well as always being first to front up as the dressing room’s media spokesman, marks him out as a strong character.

Certainly strong enough to take personal criticism and flak, deal with it head-on and keep working hard, whatever the situation and circumstance.

Video Loading

Win, lose or draw his hard-working approach on the pitch and demeanour off it has never altered and, considering who his father is, he could be forgiven for having an excuse more than most to be a typically pampered prima-donna.

But instead Tom Ince is a model professional who other footballers could do well to take note and learn from.

So why has he had such a rough ride in his first year at the John Smith’s Stadium?

Well, perversely, having the Ince family name immediately conjures up images of the greatness of all-action Manchester United and England midfielder Paul.

And although Tom is no Jordi (reference Johan Cruyff's son), him and his dad are still two very different players from different eras meaning ‘Junior’ should be left alone to become his own man.

Those sorts of familial comparisons have also perhaps seen a greater media spotlight on the player as well – with the likes of TalkSports Joey Barton previously insinuating he is not Premier League standard as he has never earnt a move to the Premier League, merely negotiating himself into one.

That may be the case, but watching Tom in his Blackpool and Derby days, he was an all-action attacking midfielder at the heart of everything positive for those sides – taking the majority of free-kicks, corners, penalties and, of course, scoring plenty of goals.

Tom Ince celebrates scoring Huddersfield Town's winning goal against Watford FC.
Tom Ince celebrates scoring Huddersfield Town's winning goal against Watford FC.

Of course, Town fans have not seen that so far, but how much of that issue/blame can actually be apportioned at the players door?

Ince joined a newly-promoted side with an already strong identity, belief and way of playing – a more disciplined set-up where defending starts from the front.

It’s something the player even admitted to struggling with (immediately after the Watford win), saying ‘sometimes you have these times in your career where you have to try and find a new way of playing or thinking. It’s obviously a new team for me, and in the Premier League, which makes things twice as hard.’

As an intelligent and flexible footballer trying to make his way in a new set-up, that has also been a major downfall - being deployed on the right, on the left and through the middle without having a consistent run in any of those position.

Therefore he’s never been able to get into a rhythm or have the chance to reach his potential, because he is not only constantly learning the team dynamic but the position as well.

Having said all this, he has never visibly let his frustrations show while maintaining his ability to get into great goalscoring positions without finding the final killer touch.

Recently he may have begun to over-think situations when really all he needed was a little bit of luck – hopefully that coming with the strike against Watford last Saturday.