‘Adversity has, perversely, put us in a stronger position’ – Charlton technical director Andy Scott on 2023-24 season and summer transfer window

BY RICHARD CAWLEY
richard@slpmedia.co.uk

Andy Scott believes some of the trials and tribulations experienced by Charlton Athletic’s hierarchy in their first season at the helm will help them make the 2024-25 campaign a greater success.

Global Football Partners bought the League One club off Thomas Sandgaard in July and already had a head coach in place – Dean Holden – who they had wanted installed when they first entered a period of takeover exclusivity in December 2023.

Optimism was high and the mood relatively buoyant before the August opener against Leyton Orient at The Valley. But an unconvincing 1-0 win over newly-promoted opposition turned out to be a warning sign of the issues to follow.

Holden was the first EFL boss to lose his job before the end of August – poor timing with the transfer window deadline looming – and Charlton in the distinctly unpalatable position of 19th.

Michael Appleton then lasted less than five months in the role with a 12-game winless run proving the final trigger. Even if the Addicks had beaten Northampton on January 24 – they lost 3-2 – his race was already run.

Next in a seat which you struggle to call hot, because no-one is in it long enough to make it more than lukewarm, is Nathan Jones.

Crucially there has been buy-in from supporters – something that wasn’t the case after Appleton’s appointment – and also a 14-game unbeaten run, although the 16th-placed finish is the club’s lowest since 1926.

Scott, the club’s technical director since GFP assumed control, believes there is now a structure that will aide Jones, who impressively revitalised the fortunes of Luton Town, in bringing long-overdue success to SE7.

“I think it’s well-documented that when we came in we believed we had a club that was as close as we’d seen in December-January but in fact it was very different, more different than we anticipated,” Scott told the South London Press.

“Your plans are your plans until you get in here and realise you’ve got to scrap them and start again.

“Decisions were made in August with Dean and then Michael coming in. We were still learning how to work as a new group, club and ownership and a board – in terms of a process. In a perverse kind of way, all the things that have gone on this year have probably put us in a stronger position for next season than if we had had an average year.

“When we made a decision to relieve Michael of his role, that was a real turning point for all of us.

“The communication got better, the relationships got better, along with the direction and strategy – how we were going to move forward.

“Will Abbott came in on the performance side of it (from Brighton). The infrastructure side of the club has improved with recruitment, analysis, nutrition and psychology.

“That was a pivotal moment in the season that probably at any other club would drag over two or three years.

“Our focus is to get out of this league. So when you appoint someone like Nathan you commit to that – we were very aggressive in making sure we did and we will continue to be.”

Jones has already talked about having nearly all of the club’s incoming deals done by the time his squad report back at the end of June. It sounds ambitious considering Charlton had signed two players – Harry Isted and Lloyd Jones – before the start of July 2023.

The animated and energetic Welshman has described the upcoming window as their “biggest” in recent history.

Scott – asked about that comment- said: “Every year is the biggest year. Every transfer window is the biggest transfer window – because it is the next one.

“We didn’t have this time last year to plan, prepare and speak to players and do all the work that we needed to.

“This is the chance to make sure the players we bring in are exactly what Nathan wants – that they fit in with the way he works, know exactly what he wants and get us challenging at the top of the league so we can be challenging for promotion.

“Obviously we would like to bring a number of players into the club.

“We don’t want to bring squad players in who are challenging a team who are 16th in the league. We want players who are going to give us the opportunity to get into the top two in the league – that’s obviously where we want to be, that is what we’ve got to target.

“We’re not going to bring in players we’re not quite sure on. We need to make sure they are better than what we’ve got, durable and can handle the amount of games at the intensity that Nathan wants to train every day – because that is where they work and improve.

“We’re looking to streamline the group – to have a smaller squad who all are capable of starting in League One next season. We need a more physical, more powerful, more pacey, aggressive group – that’s what we’ve always wanted as a team. That is what Charlton fans want to see and, like Nathan says, that go after other teams – no matter whether they are top or bottom of the league. We want to take games to teams.”

The Addicks made eight loan signings last season – none of them managed to shine, let alone sparkle.

Palace winger Jesurun Rak-Sakyi had been a quality addition in the campaign before – winning the club’s Player of the Year award with 25 goal contributions – but the latest influx – including the likes of Chem Campbell, Panutche Camara, Freddie Ladapo and Slobodan Tedic – made minimal impact.

Jones has indicated he wants to avoid temporary additions and did not name a single loanee in his matchday squads in the final weeks.

“Necessity was probably the reason behind having so many loans this year,” said Scott.

“It isn’t what I want to do. We had no manager at the end of both transfer windows and that made decision-making extremely difficult.

“In terms of loans for next year, I think there will be an opportunity for them but, in my mind, if we bring loans in we should have an option or obligation to buy if we get promoted – because Nathan’s whole philosophy is about developing players and we don’t want to develop players for another team.

“If we identify them as the right player for us we want to have the opportunity to keep them if they do well and fit with what we want to do.

“On the other hand, there are also players who are probably out of our price range to buy but may be the best option to improve us significantly, who we may have to make a call on whether that is the best option.

“We don’t really want to do that but there might be one, maybe two, that we think there is no way we can buy them but they are going to be a real difference-maker- because they have got a huge future ahead of them but their club wants them to get their games in.

“The expectation next year, and all our players have got to recognise it, is that they have got to win every game. That is the mentality going into every one of them.

“Being on a 14-game unbeaten run was fantastic. But we don’t want to be unbeaten – we want to win. We have got to change from being competitive to winning, that’s the mentality. It’s a big jump mentally.”

Charlton confirmed at the end of last week that Terell Thomas and Michael Hector had been released along with Richard Chin, Jack Payne, Diallang Jaiyesimi and Lewis Ward.

“We’ve got five loans – so they are players that will be going back to their parent clubs with four or five more out of contract,” said Scott.

“We’ve just agreed a new contract with Tyreece Campbell. He’s a player that Nathan feels he can develop and improve. But we have still got space in the squad to fill in some key areas.

“Inevitably when you have got a new manager and things haven’t gone the way we wanted this season there are going to be players that are moved on. We’ve got players out on loan that Nathan needs to speak to and see what they want to do, and there have been players who haven’t been playing under Nathan that might feel the best thing for their career is to move on.

“The key thing is that Nathan has got the squad he wants, in terms of size and quality.

“Now, if there are players that are surplus to that it is our job to move them out and if there are players that want to leave, it is our job to help facilitate that.

“Nathan will always have the say on who comes in. He has got his profiles and he is very clear on how he wants to play. Scouts and analysts can see exactly the type he wants.

“Nathan will have players he likes and we’ll have players we suggest. We will put them all together. He watches them and we give a shortlist – work out financially if they fit – and then he will choose which one he wants from them.

“That has never changed in the whole time I’ve been in recruitment. How you get to that point is sometimes different.

“The head coach always has the final say because, from a club view, there is no point investing in a player that the coach doesn’t want, he just won’t play them.

“We talk every day about players and we both have conversations with agents. We speak to clubs and see what the market opportunities are.

“We’ve got quite a young squad in some areas – so we’re a little bit different from other clubs. We might need a little more experience in the side whereas other clubs might just want younger ones to supplement the squad they have got.

“How the additions fit in with what we’ve already got is key.”

League One looks set to be stronger next season. Wrexham have the Hollywood A-listing backing to target a third straight promotion. Relegated Birmingham City will aim for an instant bounce back. Wycombe have just been taken over by Kazakhstan billionaire Mikheil Lomtadze.

“The teams who are coming up from League Two, as well as the ones coming down from the Championship, will be very competitive and have the finances to challenge at the top end of the league,” said Scott.

“There are some big clubs and if you look at the sides who have been promoted in the last couple of years there has been significant investment in all of those squads and for some it has taken several years to win promotion.

“We need to compete. We’ve had a competitive budget this season and not done well. We’ll have a competitive budget next season and we need to make the most of it – get good value and ensure we keep the squad availability high so we can be consistent in our team selection and performances.”