Addicks battle on three fronts
FACING Premier League opposition today will be a welcome distraction for League One Charlton, as they prepare for fixture chaos in the second half of the season.
And Johnnie Jackson, the club’s manager who was handed the role after a storming start as caretaker boss, admits that he already has fears for his players’ safety after a Covid-hit December left them facing a scheduling nightmare between now and May.
Charlton were hit hard over the Christmas period, with their matches against AFC Wimbledon and Gillingham being postponed.
Having made progress in the EFL Trophy against MK Dons last week and with today’s third-round tie against Norwich, Jackson’s men are currently fighting on three fronts.
That leaves the manager with a potential headache as the Addicks attempt to climb their way back into play-off contention.
“We were disappointed that the games were off, I felt like we were in a good place and we wanted to keep that flow and that momentum going,” Jackson said. “It’s put a stop to a little bit of the flow that we had.
“We had to stop training for a little period of time where we had to close the training ground and call the games off.
“But at the minute it’s part of the game isn’t it. Everyone’s suffering similar sort of headaches and we’re no different.
“Honestly, it’s going to be a really hectic period now pretty much through to the end of the season.
“I would have concerns if we get to a period where you have to play two games in three days, where you don’t have that two-day gap.
“The two-day gap turnaround is tough enough. If you run into situations where you have to play a Tuesday, a Thursday, a Saturday, then that would be a worry for me in terms of player welfare.”
Regardless of their workload, a victory over the struggling Canaries would send Jackson’s side into the second half of the season with a spring in their step.
It would also pile the pressure on his opposite number, Dean Smith.
“They’ve got Premier League quality all through their team and through their squad,” Jackson said.
“I always believe that my team, when we’re at it, can cause any team problems and we’ll be aiming to do that.”