Johnnie Jackson yet to speak to Lee Bowyer about possibility of joining him as assistant at Birmingham City

BY LOUIS MENDEZ

Johnnie Jackson has spoken of his shock at Lee Bowyer’s sudden departure from Charlton Athletic – and says he hasn’t spoken to the former Addicks boss yet about possibly following him to Birmingham City as his assistant.

Bowyer’s three-year reign at The Valley ended abruptly as he announced his resignation on Monday, before signing a two-and-a-half-year deal with the Championship Blues on Tuesday evening.

Jackson served as Bowyer’s assistant throughout his spell in charge in SE7 and says he’s yet to speak to Bowyer about the possibility of joining him at St. Andrews.

“I haven’t spoken to Lee since he left,” admitted Jackson after he took charge of Charlton’s side for the 3-2 win over Bristol Rovers on Tuesday evening.

“We haven’t gone down that road yet. Whether that conversation will come, who knows. Honestly, for a day and a half now, I’ve just had to focus on preparing the team for tonight.

“Whether I’m here, whether I’m not here, the football club is the most important thing. I didn’t feel like if I had a distraction or if my thoughts were elsewhere that that would be the right thing to do. So, I literally parked everything else up and said we’re going to concentrate on what do we need to do to win this football match tonight. Let me concentrate on that and then maybe after that there will be further conversations.

“[Bowyer’s departure was] a real shock. We got the news and then it was how quickly it all happened. Honestly, didn’t expect it. I thought Lee would be the manager coming into this game. To get the news over the weekend and then he’s gone – it was a shock. For me personally, disappointing because I’ve been working with Lee and we have a great relationship both professionally and we’ve become close as friends now as well. It’s all been a bit crazy and a bit disappointing.”

MAIN PHOTO: PAUL EDWARDS