How many points do Charlton still require for League One safety? Nathan Jones asked that question
Charlton Athletic boss Nathan Jones has been asked how many points he thinks will be required to achieve League One survival.
But the former Luton Town, Stoke City and Southampton boss opted to focus instead on the fact that the South Londoners need to start putting wins up on the board.
The Addicks are without a victory in 17 matches in all competitions – 15 of those in League One.
They could drop into the relegation zone if Cheltenham can win at Wigan tomorrow night.
Asked if he had a total in mind he felt would consolidate their spot in England’s third tier for the 2024-25 campaign, Jones said: “No – we’ve got to start picking up wins.
“We’ve got a tough run of fixtures, for different reasons, and then three away games on the spin – which seems crazy.
“Playing Bolton, Pompey and Derby in a row is tough so we are up against it, from an outside perspective, but they are games where you’ve got to take as many points as we can.
“Portsmouth travel well and they have an excellent fanbase. Similar to Charlton – they’ve had tough times in recent years but the fanbase has always been excellent.”
Charlton have lost just one of their last 10 meetings with Portsmouth, who top the League One table.
The Addicks did the double over them last season and drew 2-2 at Fratton Park in November, Conor McGrandles’ late leveller frustrating the hosts.
“They are well-coached and they’ve got people who can score goals,” said Jones. “They have a goalscorer who can score regularly. They have had players that have been around the level for a while and have experience of it – you look at Marlon Pack, Sean Raggett, Connor Ogilvie, he’s been at Gillingham and started at Tottenham. They are players who know what they are doing at the level.
“The manager has come in and done very, very well.
“It’s going to be a really tough League One game and we know that. But it’s also going to be very tough for Portsmouth.”
Asked if the fact Charlton have proved to be a bit of a bogey side for Portsmouth could be a factor, Jones said: “Ask me at five o’clock on Saturday and I’ll give you the perfect answer to that.
“History is history. All I can do is prepare a team for Saturday that is going to try and win a game for Charlton.”
PICTURE: KYLE ANDREWS
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