Charlton forward Chuks Aneke: I’m in good nick after working hard at Birmingham City
BY LOUIS MENDEZ
Charlton forward Chuks Aneke was delighted to kickstart his second spell at the club with a goal at Cheltenham.
The attacker was the Addicks’ top-scorer last season with 17 in all competitions but left to join Birmingham following the expiration of his contract in the summer. He linked up with former Charlton boss Lee Bowyer at St Andrews but was unable to make a major impact on the side – scoring just twice in 18 league appearances.
17 of those appearances for Blues came off the bench – a familiar story for Charlton fans last season who saw the striker subbed on 27 times in League One and only make 11 starts.
But the former Arsenal trainee lasted the full 90 minutes and bagged an added-time equaliser from close range to rescue a point in Gloucestershire.
Aneke says he’s confident he’ll be able to repeat the trick of playing 90 minutes more often during his second term with the South Londoners.
He said: “Yeh, definitely. I’ve been working hard up in Birmingham. I feel like I’m in good nick. If the gaffer wants to play me from the start or off the bench, I’m ready to do what I need to do.
“[Returning to Charlton] was definitely a tough decision because I was in the Championship, coming off the bench quite a bit. I’m grateful to Bows for giving me the chance to go. Situations change in football all the time. I’ve found myself with an opportunity here. I’m here and I’m happy.
“It feels good. Familiar faces, if you know people it makes it a bit easier to come in and go again. It feels good. Happy to get the goal today. I want to build on it and go from here.
“We needed it. We kept on going. That’s testament to the character of the boys. I’m delighted.
“It was a tough [game against Cheltenham]. They made it tough. They’re competitors. They’re competitive boys. There wasn’t many chances and great play within the game. We can work on that. We go again. It’s League One. Some of the games are like that sometimes. You’ve just got to grind out results.
“Sometimes in League One you’ve got to mix up the game. Sometimes it’s good to play, sometimes when you’ve got strong boys like me up top it’s flick-ons, second balls and you play on the other side of the pitch.
“We just take it game by game. We want to win every single game. Whether it’s training or games. I don’t know about targets or anything like that. I just want to win every match.”
PHOTOS: KYLE ANDREWS