Charlton Athletic Women’s boss Riteesh Mishra reacts to Thomas Sandgaard takeover development

Riteesh Mishra has welcomed the news that Thomas Sandgaard is set to acquire Charlton Athletic Women.

The Addicks head to bottom club Coventry United on Sunday knowing that a win will move them three points clear of their hosts and potentially also above London Bees in the FA Women’s Championship.

Sandgaard’s takeover of the side could be ratified before the end of the month. The US-based Dane, who already owns the men’s side, plans to move the operation full time by the 2022-23 campaign and is targeting a Women’s Super League spot.

“Since I’ve been at the club and especially since we’ve been in the Championship we have had the lowest budget and the least resources,” said Mishra. “In the past 12 months it has felt like that there is a direct link between resources and investment to how a team is performing on the pitch. If you have better resources you can attract players and have bigger squads to help you compete. It felt like we were going against the tide.

“We have got good staff at the club and with more support and backing we can do really good things. We proved that in our first season in the Championship – which was before a lot of teams invested pretty big. We took Manchester United and Tottenham quite close in the league in terms of promotion.

“We have got to make sure we pick up the points in the next four or five games to build for next season.

“You can’t really hide away from the fact Sunday is a high-pressure game. I’m hoping we deal with the pressure better than they can. If we want to get better we have got to deal with matches like this.

“We’ve had three or four games in a row and we’re looking and feeling pretty fit.”

PHOTO: KEITH GILLARD