I don’t need to know my best 11 – Charlton boss Nathan Jones after Addicks outclass Portsmouth in friendly
Pre-season is normally the time for a manager to pinpoint their best 11 – but Charlton boss Nathan Jones doesn’t see it that way.
The Addicks rounded off their pre-season campaign with an encouraging 2-0 win over last year’s League One champions Portsmouth thanks to goals from Tyreece Campbell and Gassan Ahadme.
But when asked if he now knows his first-choice 11 ahead of the season opener at Wigan Athletic next weekend, Jones explained: “I don’t necessarily want to know my best 11. I want the competition to be there, so I have those dilemmas.
“We’ve gone out and signed players that you think, okay, if I replace him with him, we’re still as strong.
“Look at the front twos today. We started Gassan (Ahadme) and TC (Tyreece Campbell) and then we brought on Chuks (Aneke) and Dan (Kanu). I’ve still got the likes of Danny Hylton, Matt Godden and Miles Leaburn to come in.
“It’s not necessarily knowing your best 11. What it is, is that everyone in the group is at a level where they can come in at any time. We play a certain way, we have a structure. They know the structure, the way we play. We have that competition and that’s the important thing.”
The victory over Pompey was the perfect reaction to last weekend’s limp defeat at AFC Wimbledon – with the Addicks also finally registering their first clean sheet of pre-season.
“It was a different game, without being disrespectful to anyone,” added Jones.
“We were excellent today. We got the press right. There was aggression all throughout. They worked so hard. We looked a threat on the counter, we played through. I would have liked us to be a bit more clinical at times and showed a little but more quality because it if we did it would have been an even more encouraging performance. But I’m happy.
“We’ve had a really good test. Worked really hard. Structurally we were very good and we’ve come through with no injuries.
“We’ve had a good pre-season. In certain games you’ve got to get an element of realism in terms of the games, and we’ve done that. Last week we were a little bit disappointing but today we were us. We were aggressive from the off, we looked dangerous. We kept the ball well. Against a really good side.
“These won the league last year, they’ve strengthened. They’re going into a Championship season and will be a good side. It’s a wonderful test for us. A real good performance which I’m happy with and a clean bill of health which is the important thing.”
PHOTOS: KYLE ANDREWS