Michael Appleton says the arrival of new signing Conor Coventry has given everyone at the club a lift.
The highly-rated 23-year-old midfielder completed a permanent move to Charlton on Friday morning, joining from Premier League side West Ham United on a three-and-a-half year contract.
“It’s massive to get Conor on board," explained Appleton. "For me, he’s a minimum Championship player and we had to fight off a lot of Championship interest.
"Everyone associated with the football club and the Board should take real confidence in the fact that Conor wanted to come to the football club.
"I actually took him on his first loan about four years ago at Lincoln, so I’ve built up a relationship with him and his family since then. He’s a top talent and he fits the vision of where the football club wants to go and the vision of the Board.”
Coventry, Tyreeq Bakinson and Lewis Fiorini could all make their debuts on Saturday when the Addicks host high-flying Peterborough United.
“As long as the paperwork is done with Conor, they’ll all be in the squad tomorrow," revealed the Head Coach.
“Peterborough have got a lot of quality in their group," he added. "They recruit well and they’ve got a fantastic group. We’re going to have to be at our best to win the game. With the lift from the new bodies coming into the building and it being a home game, we’ve got an opportunity to really put them under pressure.”
Goalkeeper Harry Isted is set to feature in a matchday squad for the first time since late September following a knee injury, while top scorer Alfie May is progressing well in his recovery from a minor back issue.
“Harry’s been training for a week or so now," Appleton said. "Unfortunately at this minute in time he’s not been able to get any game time, but he’s looked sharp in training and he’s had no issues, touch wood, with the knee. When he tried to come back last time it was with a day or two that we had a couple of issues. He’ll be fine to be on the bench.
“Alfie’s really close. One thing we’ve got to be mindful of is the fact that there’s obviously still a hell of a lot of games between now and the end of the season. We don’t want to risk it for one game so to speak, even though it’s a huge game against a top, top side. We’ll manage that and I’ll be guided and take the advice from the medical team.”
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