‘He deserved more time’ – Alan Curbishley on Johnnie Jackson’s Charlton dismissal and the search for his successor

Former Charlton Athletic manager Alan Curbishley has given his verdict on Johnnie Jackson’s departure – and felt the Valley fans’ favourite deserved a longer spell in the hotseat.

The 39-year-old left his post at the start of May, owner Thomas Sandgaard deciding he was not the right man to lead the SE7 outfit forward, and was appointed boss at AFC Wimbledon earlier this week.

Curbishley, a regular pundit on Charlton TV, told OLBG: “He deserved more time when you consider where the club where when he took over. They looked like they would be in a relegation battle, and he had a fantastic run as caretaker manager. He then got the job and went on a bad run, but he had all of his centre-forwards injured. All of them were injured which made them go on a poor run, but they turned it around towards the end of the season.

“It was a hard call on him, and I know he’ll be very disappointed that it’s ended, but he’s gone and done the right thing by getting back in straight away.

“I know AFC Wimbledon have been relegated and looking to bounce straight back, but as a young manager when you lose a job it’s vital you get back in as soon as possible.

“There’s a stat that 60 per cent of first-time managers never get another job as a manager. So, he’s got his first job at Charlton then jumped straight back in which is something that you have to do. I’m sure they’ll be looking at promotion, but for him getting back in is the biggest thing.

“I would think at a club like AFC Wimbledon he would have control of everything, not just recruitment and coaching the team, but getting out there and scouting players.

“Being involved himself in more aspects and I think this move will help him realise what it takes to be a manager in the lower leagues. It will bode well if he can get AFC Wimbledon back on track because I know he’s a very good coach.

“If he can get that club back on track, then it will help his career and I wish him all the best because I know he’s always wanted to be a manager.

“He was assistant to Lee Bowyer and others, but he’s always been itching to get that opportunity himself. I think he is going to be successful in his career.”

Curbishley was asked how important it is that Sandgaard gets his next boss appointment right. Both Nigel Adkins and Jackson did not even clock up a year at the helm.

“When I last looked at the League One table, there were 10 former Premier League clubs in that division,” said Curbishley.

“It’s so difficult to get out of, we’ve seen Sheffield Wednesday fall short and you just need to take a look at Sunderland over the past few years, although they have a chance this year in the playoffs.

“The teams coming down as well such as Derby, it makes the division very difficult to get out of. Charlton are one of the bigger clubs in that league, along with Portsmouth and others.

“The owners have admitted that the recruitment hasn’t been good enough and there’s been situations that haven’t been ideal for managers coming in. But recruitment will be the biggest thing for the club and the supporters, but firstly they’ve got to get the right manager in.

“I’m sure there will be plenty of applicants and maybe some surprise applicants for the job because it’s such a big club. Someone said to me recently that in the all-time Premier League table, Charlton are 26th which proves that they are a big club.

“They’ve got the potential to be a Premier League club again, but the first job is to get out of League One which isn’t easy.”