You can’t bury you head in the sand and ignore what’s going on around you but Karel Fraeye, basically, feels focusing more on the positives is the better way forward for Charlton.
At least these were his thoughts after Wolves….
On Boxing Day a Harry Lennon injury-time goal saw Charlton start the festive period with a draw at Bristol City as he rescued a point in the one-one draw after Nathan Baker had given the Robins the lead. They could have, after a penalty conceded by Lennon, doubled the lead but Marlon Pack struck the crossbar.
After that game, speaking to the media in quotes carried by the BBC Fraeye was happy enough and hoped it could be ‘a turning point’ for the Addicks.
‘We come away with a good feeling after scoring so late. I am sure Bristol City will feel they deserved more and I have to agree with that. As my skipper said to the players after the game, this can be a turning point mentally for the team because we have given away late goals in the past. I am delighted that Harry Lennon scored because having conceded the penalty it was an extra special feeling for him. He is a young player who gives everything for the shirt.’
It didn’t exactly prove to be that did it as a couple of days later Charlton slipped to yet another defeat when Wolves went away from the Valley as the latest visitors to do this with the points after a two-nil win.
Jordan Graham and another Lennon goal, this time at the wrong end as he deflected an effort past Stephen Henderson, saw Wolves to this win to leave the Addicks with just Bolton (who won) below them to end the year.
This, also in quotes carried by the BBC, is when Fraeye had his thoughts about focusing on the positives and not the negatives as he doesn’t feel, as much as ‘nobody is happy’ with how things are going dwelling on what’s particularly bad will help!
He didn’t think there was much in the game but as Charlton were ‘less sharpe’ at both ends of the fields this saw them punished.
‘Focusing on the negativity won’t help the players. As staff, we have to focus on what we must improve on. Nobody is happy at the situation, which we are in. It was a tight first half, the second half we were at times less sharp in both boxes – defensively as well as offensively. We got punished for that. Wolves have the players with pace and technique to hurt us.’
All we can now hope is this approach (and working especially hard to improve the areas failing Charlton) will work and the New Year can be better than this one is ending as at this point of time there’s only one likely outcome from the season it appears….
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