Johnnie Jackson: Ipswich thumping is ‘timely reminder of where Charlton are’

BY LOUIS MENDEZ

Charlton’s 4-0 thumping at Ipswich on the final day of the League One campaign serves as a reminder of how much work there will need to be this summer, says boss Johnnie Jackson.

The Tractor Boys raced into a two-goal lead inside 11 minutes ad Tyreeq Bakinson and Wes Burns beat young stopper Nathan Harness on his EFL debut.

Burns added his second and Town’s third shortly after the restart before substitute James Norwood capped off a miserable afternoon for the visitors two minutes from time.

The Addicks finished 13th in the table – 24 points outside the top six and 19 above the drop zone – with Jackson now turning his attention to the major shake-up his side needs if they are to become promotion challengers next term.

He said: ” [The defeat is a] timely reminder of where we are as a group. The table doesn’t lie after 46 games. We’re 13th. That’s where we’re at. We’ve got a lot of catching up to do. It’s a really big summer for the football club. It needs a rebuild. We need to recruit the right ones in the right areas and come back fighting next season.

“I think we’ve got a good core that will be coming back to us next season. If we add the right types in the right areas I’ve got no doubt that next season we can be at the other end of the table where we want to be.

“This can happen. It’s the last game of the season. A lot of the lads on the football pitch are uncertain about their futures. I think that showed today. I’ve said that they’ve been giving my everything and when I look back on my tenure they have, but today is a difficult one.

“A lot of lads in difficult positions. If you lose your little edge that you need, good teams like Ipswich are going to exploit that. A lot of our lads lost their edge today.”

Eight of the squad who made the trip to East Anglia are either out of contract at the end of the season or loanees set to return to their parent clubs – but Jackson said he would not be basing any contract extension decisions purely on the Portman Road humbling.

“I’m not going to be reactionary to today,” he added.

“Today was disappointing, but I’ve been working with this group long enough to know what I need to know about the different personnel. They won’t be reactionary decisions based on today.

“It’s a difficult spot to be in as a player. I understand it. If your future is uncertain and there’s nothing riding on the game it’s going to have consequences.

“Today was really disappointing and I don’t think we matched on the pitch what we got from the stands today. That hurts and is disappointing. But I want to thank [the fans] for their support throughout the season. It’s been a long, hard one and they’ve always followed us in our numbers and got behind the team and myself, even in the low moments.”

PHOTOS: KYLE ANDREWS