The Addicks have nine cup finals ahead of them according to Manager Lee Bowyer, who is pleased with the 23-man squad he’ll have to pick from.
On Sunday, the EFL agreed to a provisional restart date of the weekend of June 20th for matches in the Sky Bet Championship.
Charlton dropped into the relegation zone for the first time this season after their last game against Middlesbrough back in March and are just two points behind the Boro, Wigan Athletic and Hull City.
Bowyer revealed today that he will be without Lyle Taylor, Chris Solly and David Davis for the rest of the season but he has confidence in the players he has available to keep the Addicks in the Championship.
He said: “I had a chat with the squad this morning and told them the situation. It’s very simple, no-one is going to come in and help us now, this is us that are here now and we have to fight. We have to fight to the end and we’ve got nine games to do it.
“We’ve all got to stick together, I made it clear that everyone is starting from a clean slate on the playing side of things. If people have done well in the past and they aren’t ready for the first game, then they won’t play. It’s that simple, I have to pick the ones that are ready and fit and flying, that are going to be best for the side. I made it clear and they understand.
“Today they were very, very good in training, all last week they were very good in training. I’m looking forward to it, they seem like they are in a good place at the moment, having 23 available is a lot of players, hopefully it can stay that way until the end of the season.”
Bowyer explained the absence of Taylor, Solly and Davis. He said: “I asked all the players who was willing to play the remainder of the nine games. Obviously there are quite a few out of contract on June 30th and those three said that they won’t play. Chris Solly, obviously his contract is up, he’s worried about getting injured. Lyle is obviously worried about injuries and David Davis has said that London, with the virus, is dangerous and he doesn’t want to come down here. Everyone has got their own reasons. I do understand them to a certain point.
“Chris Solly has been an absolute pleasure to work with in my two years in charge. There is no fuss with him, he just comes out and trains hard every time. To give the amount of time that he has given to this football club, he deserves praise. That doesn’t happen these days. He’s been a credit to the club, he’s come through the club, he’s given 11 years, I think, to Charlton and that shouldn’t be forgotten.
“With Lyle, look what he’s brought in his two years. The good moments, he’s brought a lot of that. If it wasn’t for Lyle’s goals last season we wouldn’t be in the Championship. I know it is difficult for everyone, and no-one more than me, it is difficult to grasp what’s going on but he’s thinking of his career, so let’s not forget all the help he has given us. Even this season, before he got injured, he scored five in six and helped us win a lot of games and when he came back from injury, there was a goal at Forest, he had a lot of good moments in a short space of time. We’ll all be disappointed because they aren’t going to play now but they’ve also had some good moments too.”