Conor McGrandles returned to the Charlton bench on Saturday and is relishing the opportunity to get back on the pitch.
The 26-year old midfielder attended one of the Charlton Athletic Community Trust (CACT) summer courses last month.
He said: “I've just been down here speaking to the kids that are here at an out of school club doing a little bit of football. I used to go to these kinds of things when I was younger and I used to love them! It's good that I have managed to come down and see it."
As well as McGrandles, Chuks Aneke also attended one of CACT's football courses at the training ground during the summer holidays.
The summer signing was questioned on the importance of players attending events within the community.
“I think it's massive," explained McGrandles. "As I said I used to do this when I was younger and whenever I was doing these things and there were players there it was always an inspiration to look at these guys and see where they are. It made me realise that is where I wanted to get to."
Whilst attending the course, the Scotsman took part in a question and answer session for the children in attendance.
“A few strange questions,” he laughed. “They are always going to be like that, I enjoyed it. They are all well-behaved so it was good."
McGrandles sustained a fracture to his hand in Charlton’s 5-1 thrashing of Plymouth Argyle.
He said: “Obviously I got injured in the game and had surgery on the Thursday, so it was good that it was done quickly. It's just trying to keep a positive mindset, keep believing in myself and hopefully I can get a good run in the team."
Bradley Marshall, CACT's Senior Football and Sports Development Officer, also attended the course and shared his delight to have the likes of McGrandles and others attending these events and giving their advice to the kids.
“We have had the courses running here for the last five weeks of the summer. We have been very busy and we're lucky enough to be on the site of the training ground. We normally get between 80 and 100 kids here every week.
“It's very important and it's great for the young people to come and see players passing on their tips and experiences and also answering some questions. I think the young people and players here get a lot from it. It's good for them to be inspired and see the role models here at Charlton.
“To have Conor here passing on his experiences and sharing what life is like at Charlton so far is great for the children to hear."
CACT's October holiday courses are now available to book here.
(Article by Alex Forrest)