Karl Robinson spoke to the local media on Thursday morning to preview Charlton’s trip to struggling Bury at the weekend.
Takeover talk was again a hot topic and, as well as that, the Manager discussed Ricky Holmes, the preparations for Bury and team news.
Scroll below to read four talking points from Robinson’s pre-match press conference or click here to view it in full on Valley Pass.
Preparing for Bury
“We soldier on and we are still in a good position – I am trying to focus solely on the pitch and hopefully the fans appreciate the work that all the staff are doing.
“We are all doing one-and-a-half jobs at the moment and the players have been great. Nobody can question their desire in every game, so I am proud of everyone in the building.
“We ended the game the other night [against Oxford] with seven or eight academy boys on the pitch, so that’s a testament to the football club.
“It’s 11v11. They’re 15 points adrift and they are bringing in players, but we’ve bought in Stephy which is tremendous for us. We travel up on Friday full of confidence.”
Ricky Holmes
“Ricky signed the contract [in the summer] and he scored a lot of goals that put us third in the league when we had everyone flying, so he did what he said he would do.
“Ricky is still motivated – we had many conversations over the phone yesterday [on Wednesday], so this is not something that is going to affect him. At the same time, it needs to be answered sooner rather than later. He loves being part of the Charlton family.”
Team news
“Right now, we only have 16 players fit to travel, so we are two short of a full bench. Patrick Bauer was rested on Tuesday – he will be ready to come back into the squad.
For Saturday, there is no Solly, Pearce, Tariqe or Jake and Karlan is having a scan as we speak [Thursday morning] on his hamstring.”
Ongoing takeover talk
“Obviously, there is still takeover talk and I think I have counted eight press conferences since the news first broke that I have had to speak about it. I am a football man and that is my main focus.
“I know that Alex McLeish was at the game the other night – I’ve had conversations with him before - and what I have been told is that there are two or three interested parties and the earliest [potential completion date] is the end of the window, which it makes it difficult for us.
“I’ve also been told it could be up to five months but I won’t let this season dwindle away.”
To view Robinson's pre-match press conference on Valley Pass, please click here