By Jack Whittaker at The Valley
NATHAN Jones said Charlton were working “religiously” on solving their problems after Saturday’s goalless draw with Mansfield Town at The Valley left them with just one win in nine League One games, pressure mounting on the boss and a disgruntled fan base.
The Addicks had play-off aspirations coming into the season but the lack of potency in attack risks derailing their hopes if not addressed soon.
The result dropped them fourteenth in the league, seven points off the top six.
Karoy Anderson went close early on after being played through by Tyreece Campbell, but he let the angle get away from him as he bore down on goal.
The hosts were then let off the hook as Lucas Akins blazed over from close range after being picked out by a low cross from Frazer Blake-Tracy.
It was an uninspired first half from the Addicks, who lacked incisiveness, often resorting to long balls that gifted possession to the visitors and encouraged chants of “we’ve lost the ball” from the Valley faithful.
Miles Leaburn replaced Matty Godden at half-time and was involved immediately, as he appeared to be wrestled to the ground in the area by former Addick Deji Oshilaja, but referee Benjamin Speedie was unmoved.
A delicate flick from Campbell put Leaburn through one-on-one but he skewed his shot wide, before the two combined again with Leaburn this time heading against the bar from Campbell’s cross.
After failing to capitalise on their second-half dominance, the Addicks are now goalless in their last three games in all competitions.
Clean sheets are no longer silver linings for the fans, many of whom were jeering at the final whistle, but Jones insists that his style of play is not to blame.
“We’re not sitting back and being defensive, we are aggressive – us and Birmingham are the best two pressers in the league,” Jones said.
“I understand that the fans want to see more chances and want to see us score goals and we’re working religiously on it.”
Charlton’s defensive solidity gave them a platform going forward, as they limited Mansfield to just a few chances and no shots on target. But ultimately the clinical instinct was missing.
Jones added: “We’ve created three clear-cut chances and we should have had a penalty on Miles, if that’s VAR it’s a penalty.
“We’re close to being a very good side and to getting results, but at the minute we’re doing one side very well and the other side is a working progress.”
Addicks full-back Thierry Small has called on the fans to get behind the team during this difficult spell.
He said: “As players we want the fans to be backing us even when things are not going well, because when The Valley is rocking it’s unbelievable and you can really feel that momentum.
“The morale in the changing room is still high and we’re sticking together.”
