Andrew Hughes: It would be mind-blowing if Charlton hierarchy don’t give boss job to Johnnie Jackson

Andrew Hughes says it will be “mind-blowing” if Charlton Athletic owner Thomas Sandgaard does not make Johnnie Jackson the club’s next manager.

The Addicks have taken 10 points from a possible 12 since Jackson was appointed caretaker boss following the sacking of Nigel Adkins.

Hughes, who was part of Charlton’s League One title-winning squad in 2012, is loans manager at Norwich City. He was at the Addicks’ Sparrows Lane training ground earlier this week to check on Canaries centre-back Akin Famewo.

“He [Jackson] is made for the job – he’s ready for the job,” Hughes exclusively told the South London Press. “He is one of the brightest young coaches around. He has got the highest qualification in world football and shown loyalty to the club. He had the opportunity to go to a higher division, with [Lee] Bowyer [at Birmingham], and he turned it down.

“I’ve watched him grow over the last few years as a coach, on and off the pitch. Tactically he has become more astute. He knows the level and he knows the leagues but, most of all, he knows Charlton.

“The last thing I’d ever want Johnnie Jackson to do is get a job at Charlton just because he is Johnnie Jackson. But Charlton need the right man for the right job. They are lucky to have him and Euelly [Jason Euell] there. They’ve got Steve Avory as well, if they ever need a bit of guile. They can always go to him because he is an incredible coach.

“This isn’t about giving Johnnie Jackson the job because he is Johnnie Jackson and it is being sentimental. Johnnie deserves the job for the hard work he has put in off the pitch over the last few years to get to the coaching level he is at. His contacts and respect in the game is huge. He has got character, charisma and bottle. He wants to take that job.

“Just look at the cohesion that he has built with the fans and the players – they were in a really difficult situation – it would be absolutely mind-blowing if the owners of that club were to look at someone else.

“I do not know what they are waiting for. It wouldn’t surprise me, if he carries on, that someone else will take Johnnie Jackson. He’s loyal, but Johnnie Jackson has got to be loyal to himself as a coach.

“He’s stayed and cut his teeth with Nigel Adkins and Lee Bowyer. He’s done it. I was lucky enough to go into training on Tuesday because I’m in charge of the loan players at Norwich City and you’ve got one of our players – Akin Famewo. I watched training. I spoke to Akin and some of the players – the place is buzzing.

“The players are at it. Whether you have got a top manager or not, one thing about being a leader is when a manager turns around to a player and says: ‘I need you to do this today’ then whether you believe it or not – whether tactically it is right or not – you want them to do it for you. He has got players now in the palm of his hand, wanting to fight, scrap, play and whatever it takes to get results and get Charlton back in the Championship.

“I’ve seen an energetic and organised group. Everything is for a reason and every session is leading into the match plan – the identity for the game on Saturday. He isn’t just putting sessions on for the sake of putting sessions on. They are doing it right. How are we going to get the best out of this player today? How are we going to identify this weakness on Saturday?

“I always still call him skip, even though I’m older than him. I was more of a leader in the dressing room and coaching. But Jacko was always going to be a manager. I am still working out what it takes for the owners of that club to not give him the job when, in all fairness, it is probably Johnnie Jackson who has sold out The Valley on Saturday.”