Conor ready to deliver a timely boost for Charlton
FORMER postman Conor Washington is used to delivering so the Charlton star was gutted to miss out on the League One play-offs on goal difference last season.
The Northern Ireland forward, who bagged 11 goals in his debut season with the club, admits the fine margins between success and failure have played on his mind since.
‘It is crazy – just tiny millimetres in games,’ says Washington. ‘If we hadn’t conceded those last-minute goals or had put that chance away then we could have been in a different league.
‘But we just didn’t do enough over the season and we need to right a few wrongs now.
‘We have to fight tooth and nail to get into a promotion position,’
Washington, 29, started his career late having been rejected for apprenticeships by Norwich and Peterborough as a teenager but admits being a pro was never much of a career plan.
‘I don’t remember it being a big blow. I was happy to go and try and prove myself against these lads trying to earn contracts,’ he recalls.
After dropping out of university he became a postie while starring for St Ives in Cambridgeshire.
‘I really enjoyed it,’ he says, while admitting turning up on time to some away cup ties was tricky. ‘It is a good lifestyle, no real stress – you are out there being physical. Early mornings and early finishes. I could play football, golf, get in the gym in the afternoon.
‘I have never been shy of getting up early – I’d get up at about 4am. There were some ropey cold, snowy mornings but in general it was pretty good.
‘But I had some crazy ones [after a busy day] turning up two or three minutes before kick-off. I didn’t always have the best preparation but I really enjoyed playing with my mates. It’s not a job at that point.’
He planned to join the Royal Air Force but was snapped up by Newport and feels his laidback attitude helped after signing his first professional deal.
CAPS WASHINGTON HAS WON FOR NORTHERN IRELAND, SCORING FOUR GOALS, SINCE MAKING HIS DEBUT AGAINST SLOVENIA IN 2016
GOALS WASHINGTON HAS NETTED IN 31 STARTS PLUS ANOTHER EIGHT SUBSTITUTE APPEARANCES SINCE HE JOINED CHARLTON LAST AUGUST
‘There were times I felt really out of my depth but I thought, “I am just going to enjoy it and if it doesn’t work out, it doesn’t work out”. That was probably the turning point.’
Washington, now doing a degree in sport science, had success at Peterborough and although he struggled at QPR and Sheffield United, believes the way he responded to those setbacks helped him get further moves.
‘Until that point everything had been a garden full of roses. It didn’t work out at QPR and there was no one to guide
me through that,’ he says. ‘You have to learn on your own and I have taken those lessons into my career.’
After the Blades he moved to Hearts. ‘I wanted a change of scenery after a real frustrating season – and what a city to live in (Edinburgh) and what a club to play for,’ he says.
‘You couldn’t pick a better place to be in lockdown. I was unlucky with injuries and I didn’t adapt to the style of play as quickly as I would have liked.’
Even so the Chatham-born striker, who has targeted 15 to 20 goals this season, is delighted to be a key part of
boss Nigel Adkins’ plans at Charlton. ‘It was almost a no-brainer – a club of this size in this league. The manager wants promotion and it is a great project to be a part of,’ he says.
Charlton need to kick-start their season at home to Wigan tomorrow having taken just one point from three games although Washington scored from the spot in the defeat at Oxford.
The striker, who may miss the game with a back issue sustained at Milton Keynes in midweek, said: ‘We have to learn sharp because you can’t let yourself get too far behind at this level.’