Nathan Jones, the manager of Charlton Athletic, understands that in order to prevent an unprecedented drop to League Two, the club must begin winning games.
The Addicks have been in freefall in recent months, and they are only one point above the League One drop zone. However, Cheltenham Town and Port Vale have two games in hand, and the situation at The Valley is getting increasingly concerning.
It’s been nearly three months since supporters last experienced success, a span of 17 games across all competitions, and time is running out for the former Premier League team.
The decision to part company with Michael Appleton was made following a 2-1 defeat against Northampton Town last month, with Jones brought in as his successor almost two weeks later. The ex-Southampton boss has made a decent start, earning draws against Lincoln City and promotion-chasing Bolton Wanderers in his last two outings.
League leaders Portsmouth are up next, followed by second-placed Derby County, in a pair of games which could see Charlton plunge into the bottom four. With only 16 fixtures remaining, Jones was asked if he had set himself a points target required to remain in the division:
“No – we’ve got to start picking up wins,” the 50-year-old told South London News.
“We’ve got a tough run of fixtures, for different reasons, and then three away games on the spin – which seems crazy
“Playing Bolton, Pompey, and Derby in a succession is difficult, so we are up against it from an outside perspective, but these are games where we need to collect as many points as possible.
“Portsmouth travels well and has a great fan base. Similar to Charlton, they have had difficult times in recent years, but their fandom has always been excellent.”
By the time kickoff on Saturday afternoon, Charlton might be in relegation trouble. Cheltenham head to Wigan Athletic tomorrow night, knowing that a win would propel them to 19th place, their highest league position since August.
Writer’s perspective
Nathan Jones appears to have brought some stability to Charlton, but he is still seeking for that elusive first win. However, their effort against Bolton at the Toughsheet Community Stadium last week definitely merited more than a point, and they will be hoping to recreate it this weekend against Portsmouth.
The next two matchups will be difficult, but they cannot afford to lose both. If they can pull together a pair of draws, they will be in a strong position before facing Cheltenham Town and Carlisle United early next month.
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