Hayes: "We have to find a way to win"

Anthony Hayes at training

Charlton host Bristol Rovers at The Valley on Saturday and Caretaker Manager Anthony Hayes is focused on overseeing his team’s return to winning ways.

The Addicks have had a full week on the training ground after the postponement of last weekend’s game at Morecambe.

Hayes said: “I think naturally when you don’t win games of football your confidence can be affected. What I have said though is that I don’t think we’re far off turning things around.

"As a collective - players, staff and fans - we’re all hurting because we all want to do better, but we can’t feel sorry for ourselves and we can’t play with fear. We have to go into games fully believing that we have a group of players capable of winning football matches, which we are. We have to find a way to win on Saturday and start picking up some points.”

Rovers have conceded more goals than any team outside the relegation zone but come into the game in excellent form.

“They are a competitive, honest, hardworking side,” he said. “I’d expect nothing less from a Joey Barton side but I also think they have got a good mixture to their game. I think in young [Aaron] Collins they have got one of the best players in the league. His numbers speak for themselves in terms of creating and scoring goals. He is someone we’ll have to be very mindful of.

"There are some vulnerabilities there. We’ve got a lot of threats in attacking positions and there will be spaces for us to exploit - it is just a case of maximising those moments on Saturday.”

The Addicks will be without Miles Leaburn and Terell Thomas but the pair are nearing a return.

“Miles and Terell are the two closest," he revealed. "I think for both Saturday will be too close. I think Miles realistically could return against Brighton, I think that is definitely achievable.

"Terell is probably Peterborough. They are the two closest ones.

"At this time of year you are always vulnerable to flus and viruses and we’ve had seven or eight players have various different bugs," he added. "Some haven’t trained at all, some train today for the first time and some have trained and soldiered on. We are where and it’s the time of year for us.

“I think today will tell a tale in terms of who is fit and ready to train but come tomorrow morning I want to be very clear in my mind what the squad is and we’ll go about making the final preparations tomorrow.

“We’ll get a chance over the weekend and next week to get a few extra training days into Miles ahead of Brighton. The game where he got injured against Exeter, to me that was probably his most efficient display at first-team level. He’s grown into a real man. He’ll be a massive boost to our attacking options, the sooner he returns the better.”

The Addicks return to The Valley on Saturday to take on Bristol Rovers. Click here to purchase your tickets

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