Charlton boss Lee Bowyer pleased as he puts pen to paper on more “realistic” three-year deal at The Valley

BY LOUIS MENDEZ

Charlton boss Lee Bowyer is delighted that he has finally secured a new three-year contract at the club.

New owners ESI had made tying the Addicks boss down their number one priority after arriving in SE7 – chairman Matt Southall had revealed a fortnight ago that a five-year offer had been put on the table.

Negotiations continued between the two parties until it was announced a few hours before Wednesday’s goalless draw with Fulham that Bowyer had put pen to paper on a deal that would keep the former midfielder at The Valley until 2023 at least.

“It got delivered to me yesterday afternoon,” explained Bowyer, who secured promotion from League One during his first full season in the Charlton hot seat.

“It’s been dragging on for the last two years. My staff are excellent and I’ve got fans who don’t stop singing.”

“I’m over the moon that it is done now. I love the club. Me and my staff have worked hard and we want to be part of the club getting further, building. I’m delighted. Three years is a good contract for me. I’m over the moon.

“Five years didn’t make sense. Alan Pardew signed a ten-year contract and left about twelve months later. No one signs more than three years nowadays. We’ve made it realistic and the most important thing is that we have time to rebuild. I’m excited by it. Speaking to the chairman, before he came in and when he came in, there was a lot of positive conversations.”

The Addicks boss was pleased with his side’s display during the stalemate against promotion-chasing Fulham.

“We deserved a point. From start to finish it was a very professional performance. Our shape was very good. Second half we came into it more and we had a couple of chances that we could’ve actually nicked the game.

“Fulham had nice possession second half but nothing that really hurt us.”

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