Charlton Athletic boss Garner: We’ve had to have a major crackdown on discipline, standards and what is accepted behaviour

Ben Garner has claimed that he and his staff have had to do a lot of work on stamping down on the behaviour and conduct of some players in Charlton Athletic’s squad.

The Addicks chief has already sidelined Charlie Kirk and Corey Blackett-Taylor this season and been critical of their performances, either in training or matches.

And Garner told the South London Press today that Blackett-Taylor was a “tactical and psychological challenge” to get him firing at his maximum.

Asked if employing a psychologist was something the club could look to do, Garner replied: “Possibly. There isn’t the facility to do that at the moment. Part of being a manager is being a psychologist and trying to help the players in the way they need.

“Some players will need help with being more positive, some will need help with their confidence and some actually need to calm down a little bit and have a bit more composure in their game.

“It’s constantly about conversations. Quite a lot of our conversations, at the start and after training and after games is around these things.

“We’ve done a lot on that front. I’m not being disrespectful to last season in any way but we’ve had to do a lot on discipline, on standards, fines and what is accepted behaviour, what is the minimum requirements. We’ve had to do a lot of work around that and we still need to do a lot of work around that. It is an ongoing process and it is really important to do.

“If you’re going to progress as a team and as a club then you have to do it. There’s no point glossing over things and ignoring behaviours which aren’t acceptable. You have to stamp down on it and make it very clear where you are going. Then it is who is coming on board? Who is coming with us? Then try and take the club forwards.”

Blackett-Taylor, 25, has scored two goals in nine appearances this season.

But he was dropped from the squad for the 1-1 draw with Oxford United and only played the final 14 minutes in Saturday’s stalemate at Lincoln City.

And Garner was once again not wholly impressed with his contribution.

“I had a good chat with Corey yesterday,” said the Charlton boss. “He’s disappointed with the impact he had coming on, because he knows he’s a better player than that. He’s got a lot more to give.

“Corey has got fantastic physical attributes and he’s got talent, but he’s never really had a consistent period in his career. That’s the challenge for him.

“He has got the tools to do very, very well but he needs to completely buy into the group and completely buy into how we play. That’s the same for every player, not just Corey.

“I’m really hoping he does that now, moving forwards, because he can have a fantastic impact coming on, especially when games are stretched, and he can have a fantastic impact starting games.

“He’s already scored the same amount of goals as he did last season, which is a positive. I would really hope he kicks on from there.

“He’s got potential to create and score goals in every game. The challenge for us with Corey is not a physical one, not necessarily a technical one, it’s a tactical and psychological challenge to help him get the best out of himself and help the team in the best possible way.”

PICTURES: KYLE ANDREWS