Nathan Jones was frustrated with the nature of the goals his team conceded at Reading on Saturday afternoon, as the Addicks lost 2-0 in the new manager’s first game in charge.
“I’m disappointed with the goals,” he told CharltonTV. “Both of the goals come from the long throw. We talked about it. We’ve not done our defensive disciplines well and if you don’t keep clean sheets then you won’t win enough games. So that’s the disappointing thing.”
However, the boss was able to find some positives from the defeat, namely the lessons that his side can take from the game.
“I’ve learned a lot today, that’s the important thing,” he said. “I had four days with them, I saw a lot of good things and I’m finding out about each individual day in, day out. I’ve learned a lot more today.
“Never mind what you do in training and what you see in their comfort zone. What you see today, you then learn from that. Normally you can learn in preseason. We can’t, we haven’t got that luxury.”
The gaffer did concede, though, that they need to learn those lessons fast: “What we have to do is make sure we start getting points because we can’t let this form continue because it will cost us.”
Another plus was the performance of goalkeeper Harry Isted, a player Jones knows well from their time at Luton Town.
“I thought Harry was excellent today,” he said when asked about the goalkeeper’s return to the side. “I know him, and we haven’t kept a clean sheet so sometimes you change stuff to try and find a solution.”
The boss concluded with a message to the fans: “I’m disappointed for them because they wanted to come and see a performance and a result today.
“They didn’t get to see that, but look, it’s four days in to something, so what they have to do is stay positive and stay with the team and we’ll get better.”
