Michael Appleton said he will take the positives from his side’s performance after the break as the Addicks drew 0-0 with Shrewsbury Town in Shropshire to extend the Addicks' unbeaten run to four.
“The positive is obviously our performance in the second half,” he told CharltonTV. “It was chalk and cheese, day and night.”
“We looked more on the front foot,” he continued. “We were more aggressive. Kept the ball better. Created chances. Made the goalkeeper make saves.
“People might have thought that we were a soft touch. I’d like to think that the second half against Stevenage and the second half today proved there’s a little bit more steel than people might think.”
However, the boss was keen to stress that he was not happy with the first 45 minutes: “The first half – I can’t take that, I can’t accept that. I made the players aware of that at half time.
“I think no matter what game of football you play in, whether it’s in the Premier League or the National League, you’ve got to compete. You might not be the most aggressive person but you’ve got to be competitive. You can’t have a career in football if you’re not competitive.”
Appleton praised the performance of Harry Isted after the goalkeeper pulled off a series of exceptional saves to keep Charlton in it, but pointed out that the Shrewsbury goalkeeper did not exactly have the afternoon off.
“Matty will be saying the same about [Marko] Morosi. I think he got their man of the match today. That’s what they’re there to do,” he said. “But we need to give [Isted] a little bit more support.”
