Bowyer on Fleetwood Town manager Joey Barton, Nicky Ajose and the performance of the Charlton youngsters

Lee Bowyer spoke to the press yesterday morning ahead of tomorrow's home game against Fleetwood Town.

You can read what he had to say about a player coming in and players returning from injury here

The full interview is available to watch on Valley Pass.

Below are further talking points:

On Fleetwood Town manager Joey Barton...

“Joey knows the game. He was a good player. He’ll have good experience that he can pass on to his players. It’s going to be a tough game. There are a lot of teams that are in this league that can go and do something on a one-off thing. But there is no team in this division that I am worried about. I know that my squad of players can match anyone on their day. I know that Saturday will be a tough game, we’ll be ready and the best team will win on the day. 

“We played in a testimonial for Steve Harper at Newcastle. I think we played against each other a couple of times but I don’t really know him. At the testimonial he seemed a nice lad.”

On getting on a good run...

“I said at the start of the season that we have to get through this month because I knew that slowly but surely we would start getting players back and then once you do that all of a sudden the people that think their position is safe, don’t become safe any more. They have to compete in training, they have to work and then all of a sudden there is competition for places and then you see the level go up. That’s what I want, that’s what I want to see everyday. I want to see them improving and push each other. We have a great squad, I said that we only have to make a few additions and the additions we’ve made have made us better and we’re going to bring in one or two more, so we’ll get stronger with the players coming back. Then all of a sudden I can just see us going bang, bang, bang on a winning run or not getting beaten. I know that is going to happen, it is just a matter of time.”

On the performances of the youngsters... 

“They grabbed their opportunity. That’s why we took them to Portugal and they all grabbed it and improved. You could see them improving every day we trained. That’s what happens when you play with more experienced players, the pace of it, the demand of each other, then they have to improve. Then they take on board what Jacko and myself are telling them. We know what we’re talking about. I think anyone that has watched George, Albie and Taylor play, especially George and Albie, can see they are better players than they were last season. They should be proud and I told them both they should be proud of what they are doing at the moment and keep learning and keep wanting to improve because it’s in their hands.”

On the team’s progress...

“Each game we’re getting better and better in possession, so I’m not worried at all. Sooner or later something is going to have to drop for us in the opposing box. I know you make your own luck but there is going to come a stage where we end up thumping a team and then we’ll kick on. It’s just around the corner. I can see it. Every day and every time we play we’re improving and improving.

On players coming back...

“It’s going to be a headache because they are all good players but it is a good headache to have and especially for your Saturday/Tuesday games. In an ideal world I would have rather freshened it up on Tuesday or at least brought people off after an hour and freshen it up but at the moment I haven’t got that luxury. Igor has been training this week, so again maybe he can go on the bench on Saturday because when you do bring people on you look for them to make an impact. And to be fair Nicky Ajose did that on Tuesday. He hasn’t featured in any minutes for a long time, pre-season as well but he looked sharp in training on Monday and Sunday, so that’s why I put him on and he didn’t do himself any harm, so I was pleased with him and he made an impact. That’s what you want from subs, they have to make an impact when they come on.”

The full interview is available to watch on Valley Pass.

Charlton season tickets remain on sale. Adult tickets begin at just £200 and U11s are completely free in the Family Stand when bought alongside a full-paying adult, as has been the case for the last two seasons. To purchase your season ticket online, please click here.

For more information on season tickets and details about pricing, please click here.

Match tickets for Charlton's home game against Fleetwood Town on Saturday remain on sale. To purchase yours online, please click here.

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