Dean Holden explained preparations are well under way for a busy summer for the Addicks, but in the meantime he is focused on the club’s final-day trip to Cheltenham Town on Sunday.
CEO Peter Storrie said earlier this week Charlton were targeting a top-six finish next season and the playing budget had been increased accordingly.
Speaking in his pre-Cheltenham press conference, Holden said: “The planning is going really well. I had a good chat with Peter [Storrie] on Thursday and I spoke to Thomas [Sandgaard] too. We’ve got some calls to make over the weekend. There are players to speak to, internally and obviously players from other clubs.
“We’ve got to be respectful as there is still a game to play but once we get that out of the way we’ll ramp up the conversations and start to meet players – whether we get them into the training ground to show them our facilities, or take them to The Valley, or we meet them off-site to keep them away from anyone who might be having a look at who we're trying to sign!"
While the 2022/23 campaign concludes on Sunday, Holden explained he has a hectic summer ahead.
“There will be a lot going on," he continued. "I’m hopefully going to try and get myself three or four days at the end of May, as a little break but before then, myself and the staff will be working really hard over the next few weeks.”
“There is a lot to get done in terms of recruitment and in terms of a few little upgrades in and around the training ground just to keep improving the culture, so when the players come back at the start of pre-season, they can see that there is some good work gone on and it looks like a high performance environment.
"The message from the start of pre-season training is that we’re looking to finish as high up as we can in this division and you have to back that up with actions. It's not just about me standing in front of the players on the first day of pre-season saying, ‘we want to get promoted this year’. It's constant messaging every day, so there is a lot to do but I’m really excited.”
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