Freddie Ladapo: My first Charlton Athletic goal is a taster of what I can do – settling in has been confusing

Freddie Ladapo has described his settling in process at Charlton Athletic as “confusing” but added that his midweek goal against Lincoln City is a glimpse of what he can do.

The Ipswich Town loanee scored in the second half – his first since arriving at the League One club.

Chuks Aneke had the ball at his feet before it was taken on by Ladapo, who fired a strike beyond Imps goalkeeper Lukas Jensen.

“From memory it is a bit hazy,” he told CharltonTV, when asked to run through the finish. “Chuks did really well when he came on. He picked up the ball and he was actually screaming for me to leave it – but as a selfish striker I was never going to leave it for him!

“I took a couple of touches and struck it. I could see it go right past the keeper.

“I said thank you to Chuks. We both came on and impacted the game. We were both hungry for goals and it was good to get the point.

“We can’t be selfish at the moment (about the end result) because we’ve had a lot of things not go our way. As long as we set nice foundations for next week then that is all we can take from the game.

“The mood is definitely up after last week. We were all disappointed, especially myself – I could’ve done a lot better.”

Ladapo is adjusting to a different manager in Nathan Jones after Michael Appleton, head coach when he was brought in, was sacked.

“It has been confusing, to be honest with you,” said the former Crystal Palace forward, when asked about acclimatising to life at Charlton. “It’s a change of things and a change for me as well – it’s a new club and a new system, a new style of play. It has taken some adjusting but right now, with the gaffer, things are really settling.

“That goal was a little taster of things that I can do. I’m very happy to show people a little bit of that. Hopefully I can keep building my fitness and sharpness.

“It was a special goal for me, my family, my missus and my little one – I think she was sleeping actually when the goal went in. I’m sure the noise from everyone woke her up.

“It was special for the fans too because they need something to cheer about.

“Me and Chuks found a way to hit it off straight away, probably because we knew each other before I came in.

“Yeah (there is real attacking quality in the squad). We have Alfie (May) on 20 goals – you can see there are a lot of strikers who are very accomplished and very experienced. There are good youngsters as well, which is great for the club.”

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