‘I ran my socks off!’ – Lloyd Jones on hard summer graft paying off after strong campaign for Charlton Athletic

BY RICHARD CAWLEY
richard@slpmedia.co.uk

Lloyd Jones has pinpointed having a strong pre-season under his belt as a big factor in his impressive displays for Charlton Athletic.

The 29-year-old Devonian signed a new contract with the Addicks at the end of last month, keeping him in SE7 until the summer of 2027.

Jones, snapped up on a free transfer after leaving Cambridge United in June 2023, has made 27 appearances in all competitions in the current campaign.

His only absence, missing part of October and all of November with a foot injury, saw Charlton collect one win and three draws from six League One matches.

Since vice-captain Jones has returned the only losses when he has started were at Rotherham and Saturday’s 1-0 defeat at leaders Birmingham City.

He has been nominated for the divisional Player of the Month award in August and January.

Jones said: “I’ve been doing alright. It is definitely one of my better seasons.

“It is one of the first ones where I’ve had a proper pre-season and that helps with confidence.

“When I first joined last season I didn’t have a pre-season behind me and I always felt I was catching up.

“This time I worked really hard in the off-season and I’m getting the benefits of that.

“I was injured towards the back end of last season and I had a big chat with the manager, probably the last week of it, and he basically said: ‘Don’t tell me what you’re going to do – prove it’.

“I ran my socks off (over the summer).

“I worked really hard and the pre-season under the gaffer speaks for itself. It was really demanding.

“I was really motivated to come back as fit as I possibly could.

Jones’ performances, and importance in Charlton’s three-man defence, saw him land a deal extension.

There had been speculation in the last transfer window that Wycombe Wanderers were admirers.

The Addicks initially made contact with Jones’ agent in September about resolving his future.

“I got injured for a few weeks and it slowed things down,” said the former Liverpool youngster, who has scored four goals in 63 outings for Charlton.

“The gaffer pulled me early in January saying: ‘Let’s get it sorted’. It happened really quickly from there.

“If I’m honest, the longer it went on I wasn’t sure (if he would be signing again). I always wanted to stay because it is a big club, a sleeping giant. But you never know what is around the corner in football.

“The longer it was going on then it can get a little bit harder because you’re uncertain about what the future holds. To get that sorted and know where I am for another two-and-half-years means I can put that to bed and concentrate even more on my football.”

Charlton have conceded 30 goals in 31 matches – at the same stage of the previous season they had let in 48 .

Only four clubs have better defensive records and all are above the South London outfit in the table.

“A lot of work goes into it – the gaffer is huge on structure,” said Jones. “He puts an emphasis on it, especially in pre-season, about keeping clean sheets because that was not good enough.

“Also we have got consistency in the team now and maybe we didn’t have that as much last year, we were chopping and changing – I know results make that happen as well.

“We’re quite a brave team as well. Sometimes we go man for man and we’re a pressing team. He wants us full of energy. If you look at how many goals we have scored in the last 10-15 minutes it shows how fit we are and how much the manager works us.

“He wants to win the ball high up the pitch, whether that is away or at The Valley. The manager says that if the opposition are good enough to beat us by doing that (bypassing the press) then we are okay with it.

“It is when we are not brave or not winning our duels that we have a problem.”

MAIN PICTURE: KYLE ANDREWS