Lee Bowyer says that Saturday’s victory over Welling United left the Addicks with plenty of room for improvement.
And following the annual friendly, Bowyer admitted that his team needed to be better.
“The result isn’t that important but it was good to get some more minutes under the lads’ belts,” he said
“Was it a very good performance? No. It was almost the opposite from QPR last weekend. The most important thing was that we didn’t get any injuries but I thought the first half team wasn’t good enough.
“The four midfielders are the ones that can really hold their heads up. That’s harsh but true and that is what I told them. The lads set their standards last weekend and that first half wasn’t good enough.
“The second half was a bit better but, on the whole, we weren’t completely there. Teams are going to sit behind the ball against us a lot next season and we need to be better.”
A number of youngsters were again handed opportunities for the game at Welling and Bowyer is delighted with the progress they have made since the start of pre-season.
He said: “The young lads came to Portugal and they are improving and improving and improving. The three midfielders – Albie, George and Taylor – for me, they have improved so much in such a short space of time.
“They are adding things to their games that they didn’t have before. Are they ready to play? No. They know that but every day they are training with us they are going to be learning and getting pushed.”
Chances were also given to trialists Simon Dawkins and Elliott Ward. Bowyer was pleased to have seen them in game situations.
He said: “Simon trained with us at the back end of last season and we like what we see. He has great technical ability and awareness but we need to see him in games. Today was a good work-out for him and we are going to keep looking at him.
“Elliott only first came in on Monday. He obviously played today and we need to see him in games. I could probably look okay in training but it is the game time that will be important for those two. We’ll keep looking at them both.”
Supporters will be able to watch Bowyer’s post-Welling United press conference in full on Valley Pass.