Bowyer on returning for pre-season and what is next for transfers

Charlton boss Lee Bowyer was in good spirits on Friday as his team returned to Sparrows Lane for the start of pre-season training.

No doubt his mood was helped by the signings of Welsh international Tom Lockyer and 19-goal striker Chuks Aneke.

Bowyer spoke to Valley Pass about returning for pre-season and his transfer window ambitions. The full interview is available on Valley Pass.

On returning for pre-season...

"All the hard work starts now. I've just had a meeting with the lads, tried to prepare them the best way I could. I just tried to break it to them that we’re going to be pushing them into areas they’ve never been before.Our fitness was outstanding last season and I would have said we were the fittest side in that division.

"Unfortunately, we’re now playing catch-up now because in this Championship, these sides are different from what we were playing last year, so we’re going to have to push them to places that their bodies have never been before. But that’s the way it is and we’re going to have to start working them and that work starts here today.

"They know the situation we’re in. We have good momentum coming from last season so yeah I’m looking forward to getting underway."

On whats next in the transfer window...

"To bring in people to create chances and to win us the ball back. We need midfielders and we need cover for the left back because we’re not going to make that mistake again with what we did last year so we need a bit of cover with Lewis Page, we need the competition on that side.

"We’re going to bring in another goalie to give Dillon Phillips competition, we need healthy competition all over the pitch so if we do lose someone through injury or suspension, then we have a good replacement for someone to step in. We need a bit of everything really, someone to provide goals and someone to defend and win the ball back in the middle of the park so we have good players already but we need to add for competition."

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