Charlton Athletic boss Holden looking to use Shrewsbury thrashing as a springboard

BY RICHARD CAWLEY
richard@slpmedia.co.uk

Dean Holden wants his Charlton Athletic players to use the 6-0 thrashing of Shrewsbury Town last weekend as fuel for their League One run-in.

The Addicks ran riot in SE7 with Miles Leaburn (two), Scott Fraser, Albie Morgan, Jesurun Rak-Sakyi and Macauley Bonne all scoring.

It is the first time in 46 years that the Addicks have scored six goals at The Valley in a league fixture.

Supporters have already snapped up the 1,167 ticket allocation for today’s match at Bristol Rovers.

The Addicks are unbeaten in five and collecting 11 points from a possible 15 has made a top-10 finish a possibility.

But Holden, when asked if it was important for his players to stay grounded after smashing the Shrews, said: “I don’t necessarily agree with staying grounded because that is sort of an English term. What does it mean? It means not getting too big for your boots – well that is never going to happen to one of my teams.

“We will be humble enough to know that can happen on any given day. We were lucky enough to be on the right side of it. But we will use the confidence, the buzz and the spirit – everything that comes with a result like that – in a positive way.

“We should use it as a springboard for the last seven games.”

Charlton, Blackpool and Lincoln City are the only EFL sides to net six goals in one game this season.

“You still only get three points at the end of it but I suppose what you do get as well is the buzz and noise that it generates for the supporters,” said Holden, right. “It’s not something you see too often in football.

“It was a good day. We stuck to the plan. For 20-25 minutes there wasn’t a lot in the game.

“Shrewsbury wanted a bit of a stop-start type of match and there were stoppages, with Sean Clare’s injury.

“When super Scotty Fraser sticks that magical free-kick into the top corner it just gave us the spark and we quickly got the next two goals.

“To get a clean sheet was really important from a mentality point of view. We haven’t done it enough this season, certainly since I’ve been in the job.

“It’s not as easy as people think to then go and score another three after half-time.

“As an opposing team you are 3-0 down and thinking: ‘Right, if we get the first goal then we can maybe get back into it’. As soon as we got the fourth, a team would normally shut up shop and make sure they don’t concede any more.

“Credit to the players, they kept going. And it could’ve been more, we had big chances. It was a really pleasing day. Everyone benefits from a result like that.

“It leads us brilliantly into the Easter weekend, what a great time in the football calendar. To have that backing behind us (at Bristol Rovers) is phenomenal.”

Charlton are second in the form table for the last four matches with 10 points – only two behind Ipswich Town. Peterborough United, Portsmouth and Milton Keynes have matched the South Londoners, who top the quartet with a plus-10 goal difference.

“We’ve lost six games since I’ve been in the job and four of them have been Bolton, Derby, Sheffield Wednesday and Plymouth – teams in the top six,” said Holden.

“The Fleetwood game could’ve gone either way and we were poor against Oxford.

“We had a winless run, we drew one and lost three, it was important we came out of that quickly. The fact we picked up our form is a really good sign.

“Talking to Dobbo (George Dobson), I think there have been two previous spells where they had gone six league games without winning – that’s the danger.

“It can really fester and confidence can really drop where you end up in this negative mindset that you can’t get a result.

“The way we operated during that winless run is the reason we have done well since then, if that makes any sense.

“There is a way of working that doesn’t automatically get results in maybe the next game or the next day – but you stick to something and eventually it turns.

“Sometimes managers can go over the top in those winless runs and confidence can be affected. Managers can use their own anger, frustration and anxiety about results and it can spill into the player’s mindset.

“We were the total opposite. We kept confidence high and addressed the issues from the performance – which we do whether we win, lose or draw in an objective manner – and we went to Morecambe and we scored four.

“We’ve built on that.”

PICTURES: PAUL EDWARDS