Nathan Jones says his side are fully aware of the importance of Saturday's clash against Millwall at The Valley.
It will be the highest attended fixture between the two sides in more than 50 years and the sixth successive league or play-off fixture at The Valley to draw over 20,000 supporters.
“We asked at the beginning of this journey to get on board, to do everything, and the fans have done that," said the gaffer. "They’ve been outstanding. With the greatest respect, it’s a totally different club to what I walked into. That’s not just on the pitch, that’s around the pitch; the decision makers, the squad we have, how we go about our business, we’re a totally different football club and everyone’s had to buy in for that. I’m immensely proud to manage this football club and to see another big crowd at The Valley.
"Taking it back to top Championship, Premier League days is what we want, that’s the vision. This is not the destination, this is all part of journey and the fans have been outstanding from the time we’ve asked them to get on board now. That’s been a journey that we’ve done together.
“Every game is important and then the ones against your local rivals add a little bit of zest to the game and we’re fully aware of that," he added. "We want to win the game first and foremost for Charlton Athletic and everything involved with that. We want to win it for ourselves and we also want to win it for the fans.
"We understand the importance of a derby and we know that. The reason we understand that is because of the type of game it will be. If we don’t understand that then we can’t prepare ourselves in the best mental and physical way to be able to compete in a derby. Trust me, we know the importance and we allow ourselves the importance of that, because if we don’t then it will affect us on the day."
Asked for an update on the team news front, Jones said: "We’ve used the two weeks to get a bit of minutes into a few people, to rest up one or two and then there’s been one or two away. We’ve got a huge game on the weekend which we’re looking forward to.
“Reece Burke has had minutes, so has James Bree who’s had more work into his legs. Then [Charlie] Kelman and [Tanto] Olaofe have needed that time and they’ve done that, so they’re all up to speed with greater oomph if you like."
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