Karen Hills is excited for her squad to get back into league action as the Addicks host Blackburn Rovers at The Oakwood on Sunday, September 26th (12pm).
“We are looking forward to it, I’m pleased to have all our international players back. The rest of the group have been fantastic, we’ve been able to get some really good work in over the last ten days and really looking forward to the game and seeing our fans come to see us.”
Speaking on the recent international break, Hills believe it came at the right time for the Addicks after their most recent defeat away to Durham.
“I think it came at the right time, we came into the Coventry game and did really, really well. We came up against a very good Durham side where we had to find solutions and unfortunately we couldn’t so the international break gave us an opportunity to regroup, it gave us an opportunity to put some other bits in place that possibly we needed.
“We always talk about what did we learn from defeats and the group were very honest and open and we sat and had some really good conversations. We’ve learnt a lot and now we’re ready to put things right and move forward.”
The mood at Sparrows Lane has been positive and the Addicks are ready to get back into competitive action on Sunday, as Hills explains the team took part in a behind-closed-doors friendly last weekend.
“Training has been good, the international players have just returned so it’s given us a chance to work with the rest of the group. We had an opportunity last weekend to play a friendly game, we gave more minutes to some of the ones that haven’t had many minutes over the last two league games. We’ve got the group back together, everyone’s excited to be around each other and we’re ready to go.”
Sunday’s game is the start of a congested fixture list as the Addicks are set to play three games in six days, with midweek FA Cup quarter-final action before returning to league action away to Watford on Saturday, October 2nd.
“We’ve got a big enough squad, we’ll be able to give most players a lot of minutes. We know that we’re going to get fixtures come thick and fast, I think we’ve got a squad that’s capable of managing that.
“It’s going to be really important what they do away from the games, how their recovery is, their rest and their nutrition – all the stuff that they need to control to be as fresh as they can. I believe that these athletes are able to compete and be able to put in a shift.
“Three games in a week is fantastic, we’ve got a squad of players that we can trust and rely on so it gives us a real big opportunity to see different partnerships. It’s obviously going to be a really tough test when we go to Brighton in midweek but first and foremost the focus is on Blackburn and that’s what we’ve been working on and that’s what we’ll go into.”
Click here to purchase a ticket to Charlton Athletic Women v Blackburn Rovers.
Supporters who can’t attend Sunday’s game can watch the FA Women’s Championship clash live for free on CharltonTV and YouTube.