‘Charlton at Wembley again would be unbelievable occasion’ – skipper Greg Docherty on League One play-off push

BY EDMUND BRACK
edmund@slpmedia.co.uk

Greg Docherty says it would be the greatest achievement of his career if he won promotion with Charlton Athletic this season.

The midfielder, 28, lifted the League One title with Hull City in the 2020-21 season as Grant McCann’s side finished top of the table by two points.

Docherty joined the Addicks this summer and was made captain by manager Nathan Jones, in his first full season in charge.

Scotsman Docherty has featured 32 times in the league this season and is dreaming of a Championship return.

“I feel as though I’m in a good place now,” Docherty told the South London Press. “I was at my previous club for four years and it probably took me a little bit longer  to settle in at Charlton than I thought it would.

“But I really feel that from the mid-part of the season onwards, I have really enjoyed it. I’m starting to be more free and playing the way I can – hopefully the fans can see that as well.

“I really enjoy being captain of this club. It’s a real privilege and something that I don’t take lightly.

“We’re in such a good position and we would kick ourselves come the summer if we let that slip.

“There is no denying we went through some really difficult lows this season, but we never lost sight of where we want to get to.

“We very much talk about promotion – it’s something we want to visualise and something we want to do. To be able to achieve it would be the greatest achievement of my career.

“I value winning the league with Hull so much, but to be captain of a club this size, and win promotion, would be unbelievable.”

The Addicks’ automatic promotion hopes took a blow last Saturday as they suffered a 3-0 defeat to Peterborough.

The reverse left Charlton in fourth and eight points adrift of second-placed Wrexham.

“Nobody was more disappointed than us,” said Docherty. “We had a fantastic following and we were bitterly disappointed after the game with how it went.

“It just shows how tricky this division can be. The scoreline could have been anything on the day, with the chances and the dominance we had in the first 30 minutes. It should have been out of sight on our part and that’s what we talked about this week.

“But to give credit to Peterborough, they have a really good cohort of attackers who had a good day.  We have to put things right and look ahead to another big game for us on Saturday against Huddersfield.”

Big spenders Birmingham have all but secured top spot.

Hollywood-owned Wrexham are second in their first season in the third tier with Wycombe the surprise candidate in third.

When asked how hard it is to break into the top two, Docherty said: “It’s massively difficult.

“I’m not undermining my achievement of winning the division before, but it’s getting a lot stronger if you look at the teams not even in the play-offs.

“It’s about putting a run together at the right time.

“When I did win the league, after Christmas, we went on a really strong run towards the end of the season.

“Having momentum going into the last part of the season is so key. With what happened at the weekend, we’re not going to lose sight of that.”

The Addicks host sixth-placed Huddersfield tomorrow and have to play Wrexham and Wycombe before the end of the season.

So is Docherty expecting the automatic promotion race to go to the wire?

“I hope so,” he said. “It would be good for us. If we weren’t to achieve that, and if we finish the season in the position that we’re in, we’re going to be absolutely thrilled with that.

“We’re still fighting for something come the end of the season.

“We have been really consistent coming away from the middle part of the season to now, but there are still eight games to go and a lot to play for.

“Teams are all going to play each other. It’s in our hands in terms of where we want to finish this season – that’s the thing for us to focus on day in and day out.

“There are three spots for promotion. Birmingham have obviously dominated top spot and then there have been a couple of other teams floating around second and third.

“You want to get it done beforehand for less stress but, as players, when you’re sitting on the beach in the summer, going up via the play-offs could end up being some of the best seasons of our lives.

“I’ve seen the pictures of Charlton at Wembley before – it’s there for everyone to see – they fill out their allocation and it would be another unbelievable occasion.

“There is so much work to do before that. That’s an aspiration. We’re not comfortable or thinking that the job is done.

“We have eight games and we know how difficult it can be. You need to bring you A-game every week, as last Saturday showed, because this division can punish you.”

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