Embattled Bowyer determined to fight on in Valley hotseat after Blackpool defeat

BY LOUIS MENDEZ

Embattled Charlton boss Lee Bowyer is determined to fight on in the Valley hot seat.

The Addicks’ ill-disciplined 3-0 defeat against Blackpool, which Bowyer’s side ended with nine men after red cards for Darren Pratley and Chuks Aneke, stretched their winless home run to seven games. They continue to ship goals at an alarming rate – the Seasiders were the ninth consecutive visitors to score at least twice in SE7, where the Addicks haven’t kept a clean sheet in 11 league outings.

The results sees the South Londoners drop to 12^thin the League One table – with the end of season play-offs looking a fading dream now.

Bowyer has had to deal with a stream of off the field issues during his time at the club, no more so than when East Street Investment’s calamitous ownership left the Addicks facing a transfer embargo before Thomas Sangaard’s takeover in the summer steadied the ship.

He set about trying to rebuild the squad with Sandgaard’s assistance during what remained of the summer window and in January, although was still hampered by the League One wage cap.

Clearly there is still work to be done, but when asked if Bowyer feels he will be afforded the time by Sandgaard to rebuild if results continue as they are, he said: “I think results play a big part in any manager’s job. But, all I can go by is previous conversations. When I spoke to Thomas, he understood that it was a building process. People behind the scenes at this club put us in jeopardy.

“I was the one that stood there and kept it afloat. I could have gone but I didn’t. I kept it afloat. The people who put us in that mess, just stepped back and disappeared. We should never, ever have been in the situation that we were in. Now, thankfully we have someone good in charge. He understands that there’s a lot, we cut back on so much it’s unbelievable.

“We cut so many corners, it’s unbelievable. That’s it. That’s the reality. Whether we like it or not, the club was done. It was done. Now, we’re rebuilding it. That’s on the pitch and off the pitch. The training ground, there’s things happening at the training ground all the time. It was like a building site yesterday.

“There’s players that are coming in. There’s players that will be going. We have to rebuild a team. In the summer it was a bit of a rush, obviously we are under the embargo. In January did we get the ones that we really needed? I think we did okay in both windows but there’s a gap. You’re seeing that now.

“Don’t get me wrong we’ve got good players, a lot of good players, but the gap is big. I don’t think people realise how big it was. I did. I see it every day. We’ll see what the owner wants to do. Whatever he decides to do, I’ll back it 100 percent. What I’ll do is keep working hard. Keep passing on the right information, which I’ve done from day one. I’ll keep doing that. I know it’s right because I’ve played the game.

“The players I have in that dressing room are underachieving, 100 percent. I take criticism for that. It’s my job to get the best out of everyone. When people just decide not to do the right things for whatever reason, sorry I can’t force them. When we won seven games I was superman. Here we go. Sorry, you can’t control the players all the time. You go from hero to zero.

“Did I just become bad in the last three months? Come on, look at it realistically. It hurts me because I care. That’s something that everybody knows. I care about this club. I’m fighting and I will keep fighting until told otherwise. If the owner rings me up tonight and says: ‘Lee, thank you for your services.’ I’d say: ‘Thomas, you take care and I wish you all the best.’ But until that happens, I will fight every single day.”

PHOTOS: PAUL EDWARDS