‘Every position is still up for grabs’ – Charlton boss Ben Garner’s clear message for his players
Ben Garner has insisted that none of his Charlton Athletic players are guaranteed to start their League One opener at Accrington Stanley on July 30.
The Addicks continued their pre-season campaign with a 0-0 draw at Sutton United on Saturday.
“I’m pleased to get the clean sheet today,” said Charlton boss Garner. “The two centre-halves who started the game did ever so well, they were really strong. Jojo [Wollacott] had a good game in goal.
“Everyone got the minutes in that we wanted, we’ve come through unscathed, which is the most important thing.”
Wollacott was signed on a free transfer this summer from Swindon Town and is battling Craig MacGillivray for the number one spot.
But Garner said his former stopper at the County Ground was not locked in yet for a starting position.
Asked if the goalkeeping spot was still up for grabs, Garner replied: “Every position in the team is still up for grabs. We’re still in pre-season. Players have got to earn that spot.
“We’ve had players signed, players already at the club and one or two from the academy that have stepped in and looked to take their chance. It’s a clean slate for everyone, age won’t matter – the people who perform the best and show they can do it for the club will play.”
The UK is set for blistering weather over the next couple of days.
Asked about tweaking their training schedule, Garner said: “We’re off on Monday, that’s not a problem.
“All we’ve done is we’ll train early in morning on Tuesday and a session later in the afternoon. It’s just a slight adjustment for the rest of the week.
“It makes it harder from a physical point of view [the heat]. We need to make sure we recover right – they will have lost fluids [against Sutton] and be dehydrated. Good food and good recovery is really important.”
PICTURE: KYLE ANDREWS
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