Johnnie Jackson has reiterated the need for his Charlton side to build on their recent displays as preparations continue for this weekend’s encounter against AFC Wimbledon at The Valley.
The Addicks earned a first away league win in four with another impressive showing at Portsmouth on Monday night and the gaffer expressed his delight to see his side control the game for large spells.
“It was nice to back up the Fleetwood win with a good away win,” he said. “Obviously our away form hasn’t been brilliant for a while now, so to get a win like that against a strong team like Portsmouth away from home will do us the world of good.
“As always, when you do win a game it transforms the mood around the training ground. Obviously there’s been smiles on faces and a bit of a bounce over the last few days.
“I felt so comfortable in the game for long periods so to then find yourself sort of hanging on a bit towards the end and desperate for the whistle, that probably built up a bit of tension that perhaps we didn’t need there.
“Obviously there was a big following down there so it just felt like an important win for the team, for myself and for the supporters.”
On Mark Robinson’s Wimbledon side, Jackson said: “I’ve seen a fair bit of them live over the last few games that they have played. Between me and my staff we’ve had pretty much their last four or five games covered. They haven’t won in a while but they do make it difficult to be beaten.
“They’ve got some bright, young, energetic players that, if you’re not on it, can cause you problems. Like every team in the league, they will pose us challenges and it’s up to us to figure that out.
“I’m confident with my team and where we are at on the back of a really good performance on Monday. If we can keep those levels of performance I feel like we can beat anyone in the league playing that way. We’ll be trying to stamp our authority on the game, especially being at home.”
The boss provided an update on the fitness of Jayden Stockley whilst reporting an otherwise clean bill of health - barring long-term absentee Jake Forster-Caskey.
“Inniss came off the pitch the other night with a tight hamstring but that was precautionary,” Jackson explained. “He’s fine, he should be available for the game. No new issues coming out of that Portsmouth game thankfully so we’re in good nick.”
“Jayden’s getting close, he’s improving,” he added. “I feel like I’m repeating myself but it’s a really complicated issue that he’s got.
“If you rush it he could have a setback so we have to be really cute with it. If we do have a setback at this stage then that’s probably season over for him, so we need to get it right. We will make sure when he does come back that we’ve got him available for the rest of the season. We’ve just been managing that situation really carefully.”
Simply click here to purchase your ticket for Saturday’s game against AFC Wimbledon.
