Michael Appleton has called for his side to be ruthless ahead of Wednesday’s Emirates FA Cup first round replay at Cray Valley PM.
The non-League Millers came from behind to claim a 1-1 draw in SE7, meaning the Addicks will now make the short trip to The Artic Stadium.
Charlton will be without internationals James Abankwah (Ireland U21s), Karoy Anderson (Jamaica), Michael Hector (Jamaica), Ashley Maynard-Brewer (Australia) and Terell Thomas (St Lucia) on Wednesday.
“Obviously we’ve got quite a few players away on international duty, but the players who came through the game at Fratton Park on Saturday all seem to be okay and all trained yesterday [Monday],” revealed Appleton.
“In terms of preparation and having an idea of what the side is, I already had a good idea of what that might look like as long as there were no injuries. We’ll be ready for the game on Wednesday.
“I spoke to the players about just making sure we do the talking on the pitch and get the job done. We’ll be as humble and respectful as we possibly can, but at the same time be ruthless.”
Asked what he learned from the first tie, the Head Coach said: “In terms of the game itself, obviously we know that they’ve got a bit of pace in wide areas, they’re comfortable defending with a low block if they need to and being hard to beat and hard to break down.
“For us to do better this time round, we have to move the ball quicker, take less touches of the ball and obviously look to switch the play as much as we possibly can. If we do that and do it right then we give ourselves the best possible chance to win the game.”
282 Addicks will be part of a sold-out crowd in Eltham, just four miles from The Valley.
“In the first leg, even though it wasn’t what you’d expect for a league game etc, the atmosphere that was created by both groups of supporters was fantastic,” explained Appleton. “I’m sure that will happen again on Wednesday which will make for an even better tie.
“You’ve just got to play the game in front of you. I would imagine that all of the players, at some point in their lives, have been in a situation and an environment that we’re going to be faced with on Wednesday night.
“If they haven’t, they have to learn really, really quickly and I’m sure the experienced players in the group will get to grips with them,” he continued. “I see it as an exciting game more than anything. It’s an opportunity to answer one or two questions and hopefully we will do.”
