Charlton manager Lee Bowyer spoke to the press this morning ahead of Saturday’s Football For A Fiver game against Blackpool at The Valley.
His full press conference is on Valley Pass and below are some of the talking points.
On the return of Joe Aribo and Jason Pearce from injury…
“Joe Aribo has trained this week, so he’ll be in the squad (for Blackpool). He’s got through training. Pearcey is playing in the U23s game tomorrow, so he’s got through this week as well. He wants to get a game under his belt before he starts being involved, so hopefully he gets through that ok. Then he’ll be in the squad next weekend.
“We’re starting to get them back and everybody back at the right time. It’s going to be tough between now and the end of the season. We’re going to need to win a lot of games and we’re capable of that. I’m happier now than I was maybe four-six weeks ago, that’s for sure.”
On the return of Lyle Taylor and Patrick Bauer from suspension…
“Patrick comes back in, he’s had a bit of a break and obviously Lyle is coming back in. We’ve missed him, it’s obvious, to miss your top striker is always going to be difficult. It’s just bad timing for us, we were unlucky regarding the Karlan situation as well.
“We had to shuffle things around and try and make things work. Lyle has been out for a while now, it seems a lifetime away since he last kicked a ball for us. I know he’s like a kid at a sweet shop, he just can’t wait to get out there and get going. He’ll be flying on Saturday.”
On what he expects from Blackpool…
“A hard game. It was a hard game when we played them up there. They just went to Sunderland (on Tuesday) and got a draw, so they are a good side. They’ve got good players that can hurt you, so it is going to be a tough one but again it is up to us. I always believe when we go into a game, if we do the right things then we will win it.
On it not being difficult to motivate his players…
“They know that we’re in a good place, they know how hard we’ve worked to get there, so there is no way that I will let them come off of it now and lose out on the great opportunity we have.”
Lee Bowyer's pre-Blackpool press conference is available on Valley Pass. A half-season pass costs just £30 while a monthly pass is £6.50. Click here to sign-up.
