Assistant manager and former captain, Johnnie Jackson, told the South London Press that the club are focused on finishing fourth.
Though they had not totally given up on automatic promotion, Jackson conceded that even if the Addicks won every game, they still might not accrue enough points for a top two finish:
“We’re in a good place, we have got a nice cushion from seventh – if you’d said with eight games to go that we would have been 11 clear then we’d have taken that.
“Obviously we’re looking up. At one stage we ruled out the top two, Lee Bowyer did it after a defeat, and said we had probably lost that chance.
“It honestly felt like that, but then we went on a little bit of a winning run. We were going into last weekend thinking ‘win and we could be six points behind second’.
“We know it is highly unlikely, even if we win every game it might not get top two. The team who finishes third is going to have quite a high total.
“Realistically we’re looking at the play-offs and we’re not there yet, but we’re in a great position to consolidate that,” said Jackson.
Jackson also believes that playing the second leg at home – which would happen if Charlton finished fourth – would give the team an advantage in the play-offs:
“I’d say that is going to be an advantage. If you look at our home form compared with away form, then why not want to play the second leg at home in front of our fans?
“That has got to be our aim. It doesn’t really matter who we play then. If you look at last year, everyone said Shrewsbury were going into the play-offs without momentum and we had momentum.
“But this momentum, what does it look like? You can’t spend it.
“Some people swear by it, and some people say it is not a thing. We went into the play-offs in pretty good form, Shrewsbury weren’t in great form and turned us over.
“I fancy us against anyone over two legs. It is dangerous saying ‘I want to play them or I want to play them’.
“Every team has got their pros and cons. You have to worry about yourselves. Be confident about what we do and rely on that.”
The former skipper – a firm fans favourite – also believes that The Valley crowd will have a part to play in the team’s bid for a Wembley spot:
“The support has been great and they’ve bought into the way we play. We’re patient with our build-up, it suits our style, and they have shown patience with that.
“Sometimes you get a bit of pressure to get it forward quickly, but that hasn’t been there at all.
“The Valley has been rocking for some of our games, like the old days. It’s had a great feel and the lads are comfortable.”
Jackson concluded the interview by giving his assessment of midfield general, Josh Cullen, who was called into the senior Republic of Ireland squad by Mick McCarthy:
“He has a brilliant attitude and trains like a demon every day. On the pitch he leaves it all out there, plus he has got bundles of quality too.
“He has come from a Premier League club but there is no ego. He brings a lot to our side and we missed him when he was out (with a dislocated shoulder).
“We put him straight back in and he’s worked his way back to the level of performance he had before his injury.”
Jackson is a true Valley legend, and it is only a matter of time before he is inducted into the club’s Hall Of Fame.
If the current crop of plauers replicate his enthusiasm and commitment in the final few weeks of the season, promotion will be assured.
TAGS: Charlton Athletic