Dean Holden was happy with his side’s performance as Charlton beat Welling United 4-0 in Saturday’s pre-season opener at Park View Road.
Speaking to CharltonTV post-match, the Manager said: “There were some really good signs in the game. We’ve had a really tough week in terms of putting a lot of demands on the players. They’ll probably tell you it’s not been pretty this week.
"It’s been really tough for them but that’s how it should be. At the end of it we get a game of football, we score four goals and we keep the back door shut, so I’m really pleased with that.”
Holden outlined the plan for his side to be able to outrun any opposition this season, explaining: “We’re going to aim to be the fittest team that we can in the league this season. That’s not just the physical side, that’s the mental side as well. There's lots of work to do this week to keep building the players up, but I’m pleased with where we are at the end of week one.”
The gaffer was particularly pleased to see elements they had worked on in the week come to fruition almost instantly. He said: “Goals number two and three [scored by Karoy Anderson and Zach Mitchell] were the two really pleasing goals from stuff that we’d worked on earlier this week."
Fresh on the back of the signing of Lloyd Jones and re-signing Michael Hector, Holden provided an update on the fitness of the defensive duo and Chuks Aneke, who was not involved.
“Lloyd had a little procedure right at the end of the season, so he’s not quite up to speed just yet," revealed the boss. "Michael’s looking forward to joining the group next week. I’m pleased the contract talks got done. They did go on a little bit longer than you would have liked, but that’s just the way it worked out.”
"Chuks picked something fresh up in the off-season. He worked himself physically really well and got himself fit from his hamstring injury and then just picked up something in his calf in the off-season."
Holden expects to bolster his ranks further following the signing of goalkeeper Harry Isted and Jones.
“There’s good work going on," he said. "There’s fantastic conversations that have been had. It’s not always as easy as you’d like to get things done. We’re looking at bringing some players in who can get this club out of this division.
“We need to make sure the players coming in not only have really good quality, but also that they can handle what it takes to play for a big club and have that drive and desire to get out this division, so I’m excited about the next couple of weeks.”
(Article by Jamie Barton)
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