Luke Berry has ominous message for Charlton’s Athletic’s League One promotion rivals
Charlton Athletic’s matchwinner Luke Berry has an ominous message for the rest of League One’s promotion hopefuls: We’re only going to get better.
The summer signing, a free agent after leaving Luton Town, scored a stoppage-time clincher against Leyton Orient on Saturday.
The Addicks have won both their league matches this season by a single-goal margin and kept two clean sheets.
Asked about his first goal in a Charlton shirt, Berry said: “The way it happened was brilliant – a last-minute winner. You can’t really write it any better than that, in front of the fans at home. It was a brilliant feeling. I did the tunnel jump and thought I was going to cramp up. It’s a unique thing and I’ve not done it before. It’s cool and something to look forward to doing when you’re doing well.
“It’s probably the most natural thing I do (arriving in the box and on to chances). It’s not something I really work on. It’s just sniffing off the front two, trying to find a little second ball and getting the shot off.
“The other day against Birmingham there are a few I could do a little bit better on. Luckily I took one today. There were even a few in the first half, I had a left-foot volley which got blocked. You could sense it was coming.
“Hopefully I can show and teach the younger lads it’s not all about flicks and tricks, it’s about grinding out wins. Today was a bit like that and even the Wigan game.
“We didn’t go hasty. We still got it out wide and still tried to be us. It was a good learning curve for us that if we keep doing our things, keep intense then finally we will get a chance or they will break down.
“The main thing we have been working on is getting those clean sheets. I wasn’t here last season but the gaffer was drilling it into us that you don’t get promoted if you don’t get clean sheets.
“We need to stay doing the basics and keep learning. There will be things we did wrong today. It’s about learning and progressing as the season goes – we’ll get better and better than that.
“As long as we keep that intensity. A lot of their lads were cramping up and we weren’t. I don’t think any of ours cramped up in the heat. We’re only going to get stronger. The gaffer’s teams always seem to get stronger as the seasons go on and momentum comes.”
Next up for Charlton is last season’s beaten play-off finalists Bolton.
“We’ve got a good little six points in the tank but the gaffer won’t let us ease up – we need to be winning every week,” said Berry.
“Bolton won’t be any different. We feel like we’re a better team than them and we need to prove it. It’s starting with all those basics and intensity – being us.”
PICTURE: KEITH GILLARD