Charlton Athletic boss won’t factor contract situations into team selections – ‘integrity’ to name strongest starting 11

Charlton Athletic manager Nathan Jones will keep picking his strongest starting 11 right until the end of the League One season.

There are a number of the Addicks squad who are coming out of contract in the summer – including the likes of Terell Thomas, Michael Hector and Tyreece Campbell.

And George Dobson has signed a pre-contract agreement with Hungarian side Fehervar.

But Jones says that the fact Dobson is lined up to move away from SE7 this summer will not factor into his selections for the remaining fixtures.

“I pick my best 11, that’s what I want to do,” Jones told the South London Press.

“If George Dobson is in my best 11 – regardless of whether he is coming out of contract or not – that is fine.

“I’ve been critical before, or in my mind, of teams who are mid-table and want to experiment. Trying to do things differently causes problems when a team is trying to stay in the Football League.

“For example when I was at Luton there was a team in the Championship which wanted to experiment but we were still trying to stay in there. That won’t be Charlton Athletic. We will be trying to be the best version of us – with integrity, with credibility and try to pick our best 11 to win every game. That’s what we do.

“We won’t be putting people in just because we feel we’re in a good position. We will respect every single result.

“George Dobson has been in my best 11 pretty much right throughout. Provided he continues to retain the levels, in training and in games, then he will start at Cambridge, for example.”

Rarmani Edmonds-Green was not part of the matchday squad for Tuesday’s 2-2 draw against Wigan Athletic.

“To be fair to him he has been playing through a slight stiffness in his achilles but we pick a team and bench that we believe can win us a game,” said Jones. “It’s a big squad and there are a lot of tough decisions now to make – not so much the team but the bench. We have 10 players we leave off the bench that arguably would be in the 18 at pretty much every League One football club.

“That’s not us being disrespectful in any way. We’ve got a strong squad and individuals that are very good. I just pick a team. If people miss out it isn’t because necessarily they are bad players or not doing what I expect of them. It’s just sometimes we have to make tough decisions.”

MAIN PICTURE: PAUL EDWARDS