Dean Holden and his players are raring to go ahead of Saturday’s season-opener against Leyton Orient at The Valley.
This weekend's clash against the newly-promoted O’s marks the start of a new era at Charlton.
“We’re ready,” said Holden in his pre-match press conference. “I can feel it with the staff and the players - it’s an exciting time for all of us.
“Pre-season has gone very well for many different reasons with the challenges we’ve faced, certain styles we’ve come up against, formations etc. We’re still nowhere near where we want to get to as a team, of course, but we’re ready for the game and we can’t wait for it.
“I can’t wait for a fantastic atmosphere at The Valley, certainly come kick-off. It’s then about us making sure that we keep that atmosphere within the stadium and we give our fans something to cheer about. We’ve spoken about that connection a lot and it’s really important.”
Reflecting on the Addicks’ pre-season preparations, the gaffer said: “I’ve been really pleased with the work that the players have done, I have to say. They’ve worked really hard this pre-season, as you’d expect, but to come through it unscathed with no soft-tissue injuries is great credit to everybody.
“We’ve pushed the players and pushed them to some dark places at times in pre-season, but they’ve come through it and they’ll be all the stronger for that. The squad’s in a good place, obviously there’s some decisions to be made in the next 48 hours going into the game, but as it stands right now everything’s okay.”
Asked for an update on the recruitment front, Holden explained: “We know where we need to strengthen and those decisions have already been made. Obviously there will probably be players to leave the club before the window closes as you see at every club and in every transfer window naturally.
“We want to keep quite a trim squad,” he added. “We don’t want too many who aren’t going to be getting a lot of game time - I think it’s important from a psychological side as a player that you always feel close to the team.”
New team, new era. The Addicks host Leyton Orient at The Valley on Saturday, August 5th. Click here to get your tickets.
