Nathan Jones was delighted with his side’s performance against Leyton Orient as Luke Berry’s stoppage-time winner made it two wins from two to kick off the season.
“I thought we were excellent. I really did,” he said. “Leyton Orient are a decent side. They finished above us last year. We knew it was going to be a tough game, but I thought we were excellent start to finish. They have threats, they made it difficult early on. You have to be patient, you have to trust your structure, trust your team.
“We didn’t change, we just kept at it. Just a little bit more quality and it could have been more. We’ve had better chances, we’ve had better situations. The physicality, the aggression and the intensity that we played with – I was delighted.”
The manager was particularly pleased by the contribution from the match-winner: “It’s what he does. I paid £250,000 for him in 2017. He has produced that type of performance, that type of goal, that type of threat since I’ve known him.
“When he became available, it was a zero-brainer. The boy, he has class. He’s a class midfield player. There’s no better at timing, technique and everything he’s got. What a wonderful, wonderful player. I’m delighted for him. I’m delighted for everyone today – I thought there were some monumental performances. Lloyd Jones, Kayne Ramsay.
“We had that athleticism today to really, really be a strong side. I’m delighted with the performance. Obviously the win is everything and then the manner was fantastic as well.
“We’re an 100-minute team, and that’s what we’ve got to do. I know sometimes the crowd get frustrated, but it’s not going to be easy to win games. Winning football games it’s difficult, it’s tough, as this football club has found out for a long time.”
Jones credits the team’s endurance to the work done in pre-season. “I thank the board, I thank the owners for backing us and getting players in early,” he said. “We’ve been able to put that work into 95% of what we want to do. We’ve had 95% availability over pre-season.
“We’ve been aggressive, we’ve worked them hard, they’ve been in a good place, they’ve been away. We’ve had the odd loss which we’ve had to come back from, we’ve had a wonderful performance, but we felt we were ready going into the league. That’s credit to everyone at the football club. It’s only two games, but you couldn’t ask for a better start. Two wins – however they come, they come – and we believe we’re going to get better.”
The players weren’t the only ones running – Jones himself sprinted down the touchline to join the celebrations.
“I’m in 12 hours a day, sleepless nights, I stay away from family, don’t go on holidays,” he explained. “I do all these things to dedicate my life for those moments. So I’m not just going to sit down and be very reserved. That’s not me as a person. I want to join in, that’s part and parcel of the week’s work that we’ve done.”
The gaffer also had a word for his goalkeeper, who is yet to concede a league goal in Charlton colours.
“Will Mannion has had a tough time over recent weeks,” he said. “People won’t know what’s gone on with Will Mannion. What a credit he is to him and his family. I’m so proud of him.”
Next up for Jones’ side is Bolton Wanderers next Saturday. “We’ll enjoy this tonight, and then we’ll start preparing tomorrow. That’s the nature of the business,” he said.
“Bolton are one of the favourites. They’ve got a good squad, they’ve recruited well. It’s going to be a tough game, we know that. But let’s enjoy tonight and then we’ll have six days to lead into that.”
