Despite expressing his immense pride, the overwhelming emotion for Johnnie Jackson was naturally one of disappointment after his side’s 1-0 defeat to Norwich City in the Emirates FA Cup third-round.
The Addicks dominated proceedings from virtually start to finish at The Valley, though were ultimately left to rue missed chances after substitute Milot Rashica converted on 79 minutes to seal the Premier League side’s progression to the fourth round.
“I’m really proud of the performance that the boys have put in,” Jackson told CharltonTV. “I’m gutted that we haven’t got more from it and the players haven’t got what they deserve. I thought we were the dominant team in the match for the majority of it, so to come away and be out of the cup I’m really disappointed.
“We weren’t going to sit back and let them do what they want and dominate; this is our stadium, our pitch. We always try to play on the front foot no matter who the opposition is. We’ve done that today. We forced them into three changes at the break and we’ve caused them real problems throughout the game.
“I can’t keep standing here and saying that we’ve dominated the game, created great chances, great situations but haven’t scored a goal,” the boss reflected. “We’ve limited the opposition to very little and we’ve lost 1-0. I feel like I’m stood here like after the Wycombe game, so it’s tough to take. We have to address it. We have to ask ourselves what we need to do, how we need to improve.
“It’s that little bit of individual responsibility from the lads as well when they’re getting in those situations to have that killer instinct. As a team we’re working the ball into great situations, we’re pressing really well and winning it back high - all the things that we work on during the week. It’s just adding that last little bit. They get a sniff there, they break away and they put it away. Ultimately that’s been the difference.
“We have to keep that level of performance,” he added. “If we do it, we’re going to win games. If you play as well as that you’re going to win games, but we have to look at why we’re not. Again, that comes down to those little crucial moments, those situations when you have to have that killer instinct.
"Ultimately that’s what won us and lost us the game. They’ve shown a tiny little bit of quality for their goal. We just haven’t managed to do that in the situations that we’ve had. We have to look at ourselves and ask ourselves, ‘right, how can we address that?’ But, at the same time, I don’t want to stand here and be too critical of my players because I thought they were outstanding.”