‘I didn’t come here because it was a cushty number’ – Nathan Jones on the challenge and pressure at Charlton Athletic

Nathan Jones has answered if he is facing the biggest challenge of his managerial career with his Charlton Athletic side not looking a promotion contender.

The Addicks were knocked out of the EFL Trophy on Tuesday by Leyton Orient.

And last week Crawley Town, who have nowhere near the budget that the South Londoners can play with, won 2-1 at The Valley.

Jones and his players were booed off after the loss to the Red Devils.

The point gained in a 0-0 draw at a windswept Lincoln City at the weekend left them 12th in the League One table and eight points behind sixth-placed Reading.

Asked if this was the toughest test he had faced, Jones told the South London Press: “Well, the ironic thing is it wasn’t as big a challenge as when I first came. The club hadn’t won in 18 games and it was perilously close (to the drop). They had played more games than anyone else. It was a point above the relegation zone.

“If I had any fears of a challenge then trust me, I would’ve stayed in Poole and got on my paddleboard for another few months.

“That was the challenge then. Now, this club – on all levels – wants to move forward. That’s why I came here because it is not just about results. Results are the periphery. Results are the top thing you see – it’s like an iceberg. Everything else underneath has to be strong.

“We have a really good underbelly now in terms of the culture and the environment – how we recruit and go about stuff. The discipline around the training ground. The golden thread right through the academy and community trust – everything is there.

“At the minute we are inconsistent with results. That won’t just change overnight. You won’t suddenly turn from a team 18th in League One to a challenging team but that is the aspiration we have.

“Now that might take a little bit of time. It takes fans to get behind stuff. I know, there is no way I would’ve got behind the Crawley performance – no way. I can’t defend that. But this is a good group here, that is working, does want to learn and is young. We’ve got good experience here but there is a young group as well.

“It is a big challenge. But when you come to Charlton it is always a challenge. Whatever league you are in, there is always aspirations. They’ve been a Premier League club and they wanted to get as high as they could. When they were Championship they wanted to get into the Premier League. When they were fighting for their life in the Championship they wanted to stay in the Championship. There is always a challenge here.

“I didn’t come here because it was a cushty little number, I could live near Greenwich Park and ride a Lime bike. I’ve come here to work hard and take this football club forward – given time I know we will do that.”

There has been a change in expectation though from when Jones first replaced Michael Appleton with League One safety the priority.

This season there had been plenty of optimism and talk of a top-six finish. So does he think that was an unfair expectation?

“No,” said Jones. “I think it was bold. But it’s definitely not unfair because it’s definitely not an aspiration that we don’t have ourselves.

“It’s something we want to achieve. Bear in mind, we could by the turn of the year be in the top six. So let’s not panic and start fearing and worrying – or chastising too many people because we have got three of our next four games at home. We’ve had a horrific injury record. We know some of the performances have been inconsistent and not the standard we would like them to be. But there is still plenty and plenty of games to go – and we are nowhere near where we were last year.”

PICTURE: PAUL EDWARDS