Challenging for promotion is the bare minimum for Charlton Athletic – Sean Clare

BY LOUIS MENDEZ

Sean Clare has his sights set firmly on a promotion push upon his return to Charlton Athletic.

The 24-year-old midfielder was signed by the Addicks at u11 level but departed for the Nike Academy before linking up with the side the South Londoners shared an opening day draw with, Sheffield Wednesday.

He had spells on loan with Bury, Accrington and Gillingham whilst with the Owls before spending two seasons in Scotland with Hearts.

He then returned to League One with Oxford United and made a temporary switch to Burton Albion last season before returning for a second spell at The Valley.

He finally made his debut for the club in front of the returning fans during the stalemate with the Owls and is clear that he expects the Addicks to be part of the promotion shake-up come the end of the season.

Clare said: “Charlton is a massive club. The bare minimum is to be challenging. To be doing our best and our aim has to be to get promoted. The aim is always automatics but it’s still very early in the season.

“It’s a good performance [against Wednesday] in the right step but there’s a long, long way to go before we can really start talking about that. We’ve just got to keep building on performances and do our best every game.

“It was a bit surreal for me. Growing up as a kid I was watching people walk out to the Red, Red Robin so when I heard it in the warm-up it was a bit surreal. I enjoyed it. Second-half was definitely better. We played a bit more through me in the second-half which allowed me to drive with the ball and get into the box a bit more.

“That’s what I’ll try and bring to the team. I think there were opportunities where the final pass, whether it was from me or other players, could have been a bit better and we’d have got a goal. It’s the first game, we can’t expect too much, but what we gave and what we did was massive. Playing in front of fans again was huge. We’re really grateful to all the fans that turned out and I’m sure they’ll be with us throughout the season.

“When we first walked out to start the game it was a massive noise. It took me by shock and probably took a few payers by shock. They were with us throughout the game, they really got behind us. Especially in that second-half, they were almost trying to suck the ball into the net. Unfortunately, we couldn’t put it in but I’m sure we will and repay their faith soon enough.”

PHOTOS: KYLE ANDREWS