“Nothing to lose” – Charlton Athletic boss Nigel Adkins has positive message ahead of League One run-in

Nigel Adkins reckons that Charlton Athletic have nothing to lose as they head into the League One run-in.

The Addicks are ninth in the standings heading up to Doncaster Rovers for their Good Friday assignment.

And Adkins reckons that the club’s previous woes – being on the brink of administration before US-based Dane Thomas Sandgaard acquired the club in late September – means that a play-off finish would just be an extra boost.

“It’s a great opportunity,” he said. “At the start of the season the football club and all the supporters were maybe thinking ‘will we see the season out?’ So all of this is a big bonus.

“You’ve now got an owner who has set a wonderful long-term vision, that is really exciting. I can’t wait to meet the supporters. Like everybody I have been denied that opportunity but I’m looking forward to engaging with them.

“What have we got to lose? Let’s try and be as positive as we can. We have to go and get points on the board and we have to win games. But let’s break it down – how we can get our performance right and give ourselves an opportunity?

“I’ve been here 13 days, I can’t control anything that has happened in the past.

“It’s really exciting that the games we’ve got coming up are virtually all against teams who are probably above us in the league. What a great opportunity to test ourselves and see if we can take points off them and try to catch them.

“We’re looking at it as it is a new league – nine games to go. We’ve got to find a way to get ourselves in that sixth position. If we win against Doncaster we can even go fifth, so there is an opportunity for us.

“But I’m aware other teams have got games to play, so there will be a disparity in that as we go along. It’s a fresh start, this is where we are – how can we go about getting the best out of all of us so that we’re rowing and pulling in the same direction so we can effect the next game?”