Johnnie Jackson says his players are desperate to right their recent wrongs ahead of Saturday’s Sky Bet League One meeting with Cheltenham Town at the Jonny-Rocks Stadium.
The Addicks suffered a third successive league loss at Crewe Alexandra on Wednesday night, though naturally left Cheshire feeling hard done by after a hugely controversial decision denied Jackson’s side a point at the very death.
With a matter of seconds remaining, Elliot Lee’s deflected shot crashed in off the underside of crossbar to seemingly salvage Charlton a share of the spoils, only for the referee to chalk it off after extensive deliberations between the officials.
“Obviously it was a disappointing result,” reflected Jackson. “We’ve looked back on it and obviously watched the game back. We spoke about it this morning with the group and as we always do we’ll learn the lessons. We still look back at it with frustration because I certainly think the goal at the end should stand and that should be a draw.
“When I watched the game back I saw the chances and situations we created, especially in that first half an hour. There’s countless final third entries and obviously we’re not finishing off these opportunities, so we spoke about that this morning. We have to address it and the players are keen to get out there Saturday and put it right.”
Jackson revealed Craig MacGillivray is available for selection following the birth of his first child, though admitted the Addicks will continue to assess Conor Washington, who played the full 90 minutes at Mornflake Stadium, due to the nature of the turnaround.
“Macca’s had a baby girl,” the boss said. “He’s delighted. His wife and the baby are doing well, and he was back in today with a view to being back amongst it for Saturday.
“Conor got through the whole game, obviously it’s something we need to manage because he did miss a little period of training and a couple of games with a hamstring niggle. Obviously the turnaround from Wednesday night to Saturday afternoon is one of the quickest turnarounds you get in football, so it’s something we have to look at and manage. We’ll see what part he can play.”
Meanwhile, the 39-year-old confirmed Jayden Stockley will remain absent for this weekend’s trip to Gloucestershire.
“Jayden will still be out,” added Jackson. “He won’t be involved with the group but hopefully not too much longer for him.”
The Charlton manager is expecting another stern test this weekend in the form of Michael Duff’s Cheltenham side, who sit just a point above the Addicks in 14th and ran out 2-1 victors at The Valley in the reverse fixture.
“I’m expecting a tough test, obviously they beat us earlier in the season at home which we were disappointed with,” he admitted. “It’s a tough place to go - I’ve played there many times myself so I know that firsthand.
“They’re playing some good stuff, they try to play out from the back and as with anyone in this league, they’ve got some players that can hurt you and they’ve got threats. We have to be on our game to nullify that and look to exploit them the other way.”