Manager Karl Robinson has been speaking about all things Charlton Athletic as we go into the game against Blackpool this weekend.
Meeting with the media on Thursday to preview this weekend’s clash against Gary Bowyer’s side at Bloomfield Road, inevitably there were a number of topics up for discussion given life at The Valley at the moment.
Speaking to the Official Site as he met with the media, Robinson began with his thoughts on our opposition and he knew we’d be in for a tough game.
‘It`s going to be a difficult afternoon. All of their players will be fully-motivated after the passing of Jimmy Armfield. It`s been a difficult week for everyone concerned at Blackpool, I know there is going to be a minute`s applause before the game and there`s going to be a speech as well read out by family members so it`s going to be a touching occasion for everybody concerned. But once the whistle goes, that`s gone, but it will give them an impetus and we`ve got to make sure we`re ready.’
On the injury situation at the club, Robinson went on to say it was a mixed bag at the moment.
‘There are one or two that we feel may need a bit of a rest in some ways, but that`s not really a massive issue. We`ve got one player that will be out, but that`s not to do with injury, that`s to do with personal reasons. Patrick Bauer is travelling. Pearcey (Jason Pearce) probably could, but he`s going to train now to get another few high intensity sessions so he`ll be ready for next Saturday.’
Reeco Hackett-Fairchild is missing after picking up a knock in training but he should be back in training by the end of the week. Pearce, according to Head of Medical Alastair Thrush, was hoping to return to training next week when he met with he media. Lewis Page has started to rejoin group work after his lay off wihth an Achilles injury but he’ll return with the Under 23’s first. Naby Sarr is also making progress on his injury and is ahead of schedule at the minute.
With Ezri Konsa remaining a hot topic in the headlines.
‘If he goes, I`ll make sure he is kicked right back! There`s obviously going to be a number of people chasing him as he`s been amazing. In the last five games, he`s been outstanding in his performance levels, so there`s obviously going to be a lot of people circling around. He`s young, he`s English, he`s a talent and has got an amazing future ahead of him, so we`ll see. But right now, there hasn`t been any bids for him so it`s not like we are sitting here fending off clubs and saying no, but the owner has been very clear on this.’
He added.
‘It`s something that I`ve not got involved in whatsoever. My job is football here. I`m confident that he`ll be playing Saturday. In this world, that is a real long time to look forward in this window, every hour feels like a day and every day is like a week.’
Having brought in Wolverhampton Wanderers winger Michal Zyro, he added.
‘One of his main two objectives was to try and get Charlton to the next level, and his next one is to get to the World Cup in Russia. It just shows you the level of player whose job is to assist someone like Lewandowski, which just shows the quality of the players he`s mixing with. He trained really well on Tuesday, he certainly looks in good shape, I`ll make that decision tomorrow whether I go with him or not. We did a speed test on Tuesday, and he`s quick! He`s over six foot and has a power to him, for a big man he has a good touch, and I`ve watched him a few times and he was flying before he had his injury. He was hitting that level in the Championship, so you`d like to think he`d have even more of an influence in League 1 whilst he builds his confidence up.’
Despite ongoing takeover and transfer talk, Robinson remained confident of keeping our promotion push on track.
‘I do believe in great things happening to good people and good places, it`s never really not crossed my mind in some ways. The problem we have right now is not what we can achieve. It`s whether other people are going to fall away from. They`ve got a lead, can we reach them, and can we reach their points tally? Yes, we can. We knew what our points tally and objectives were going to be, but if the opposition go way above and beyond that because they reach levels you can`t compete with, that`s not in your hands.’
