Garner to miss Fleetwood match

Ben Garner will miss the Addicks' game against Fleetwood Town on Saturday after testing positive for COVID-19.
 
Men's First-Team Assistant Coach Scott Marshall, First-Team Coach Anthony Hayes and First-Team Goalkeeping coach Glyn Shimell will take the team in the manager’s absence.
 
"I've got a little bit of a cough and I'm just tired more than anything," said Garner. "Frustrated would be the word but we're making the best of it and we're preparing as best as we can. I'm fortunate to have really good staff so we'll be well prepared for the game and I'm doing as much as I can from a distance.
 
"Scott's actually had COVID as well," revealed the gaffer. "He had it in the early part of the week and missed Tuesday's game, but fortunately he's back for this game. We've also got Anthony Hayes, Glyn Shimell and all of the other support staff from a sports science, medical and analysis point of view.
 
"We're very close as a group and really hardworking. They have my full trust in what they do and we've prepared as normally as we can. Amongst the coaching staff everyone has their clear responsibilities in terms of preparation and we've carried on with that.
 
"Obviously some of my responsibilities have gone to Anthony and Scott which they're more than capable of doing very well," he added. "I can still prepare the meetings, I've watched all of Fleetwood's games and been able to analyse the opposition. I've put together how we're going to play, I've put together the meetings and I'll have a video link to speak to the players on the day. I can watch the game and help as much as I can from a distance."
 
Saturday's opponents Fleetwood have claimed the most draws in the division this term (five), with their solitary league defeat coming at Port Vale on the opening day.
 
"They've proven straight away that they're hard to beat," Garner said. "They play with really good energy and intensity, and I think that's probably a reflection of the manager in his career and the type of player he was.
 
"They've also got quality, they can pass and move the ball well, they generally get good width from their full-backs, they look to advance them up the pitch and then they get some good movement in behind the frontman.
 
"We're going to have to be structurally good with our defensive play, particularly behind our attacks; if you're naive against them and you leave spaces they're very, very good on the counter-attack. We're going to have to have good intelligence behind the ball and what is certain is we're going to have to go and compete and be at our very best in terms of our desire to run, tackle and work for each other. On top of that, we need to play the way that we want to and show the bravery and courage to do that."
 
The boss expressed his gratitude to the hardy Addicks who are set to make the circa 530-mile round trip to Fleetwood's Highbury Stadium this weekend.
 
"Each and every supporter that is travelling up to Fleetwood tomorrow, I salute you and I thank you because it's a huge commitment to the football club and the team," he said. "Please get behind the boys and be as loud as you can and hopefully we can get those three points."