Charlton boss reveals one of most ‘pleasing’ aspects as he looks for his side to compete at Rotherham United
Johnnie Jackson has praised his Charlton Athletic side’s work ethic ahead of Saturday’s trip to promotion-chasing Rotherham United.
The Addicks are not in the promotion or relegation equation in the closing weeks of the 2021-22 campaign.
But Jackson was pleased that his side did not show any waning of commitment levels in Tuesday’s 1-1 draw against an AFC Wimbledon side deep in drop danger.
Next up comes a tough test at newly-crowned EFL Trophy winners Rotherham. The Millers are third in the table but are only two points behind Milton Keynes and have matches in hand.
Charlton will be without Sam Lavelle (shoulder) and Ryan Inniss (suspended) for the fixture. Ben Purrington (knee) is a doubt.
Jackson told the South London Press: “It would be a difficult game if we had everyone available so it becomes even more difficult after they dropped out of the top two in the week as well, that doesn’t help matters because they are right in amongst it for automatic promotion. They’ll be looking to be right at it. But so will we.
“You saw the other night, one of the most pleasing aspects was that you’ve got one team desperate for the win and fighting for their lives – and I didn’t want that to be apparent on the pitch, that one team was playing for nothing.
“My team did absolutely everything they could to try and get something out of the game, especially towards the end when we were down to 10 men. People were putting their bodies on the line. Purrington’s knee had gone and he was still in there trying to make tackles and blocks.
“My players are fighting for every point, even though you could say there isn’t loads to play for in terms of league position. That isn’t reflected by what you’re seeing on the pitch. The players are giving me everything.
“It will be the same on Saturday. We’re not going up there just to make the numbers up. We’re going to try and win a game of football.
“There is no reason we can’t go there and win. We had a really good game against them at The Valley earlier this season. We were unlucky not to win it in the end. That was really competitive and I expect exactly the same
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