MICHAEL Appleton says he wants to be the manager who takes Charlton back to the Championship after being appointed as Dean Holden’s successor.
The former Portsmouth, Blackpool, Oxford, Blackburn and Lincoln boss has been in the managerial game for more than a decade now and brings a wealth of experience to the SE7 hot-seat.
And Appleton is looking to put all of that to good use by guiding the Addicks out of the third tier and ending their four-year unwanted spell in League One.
Asked by Charlton TV what attracted him to the role, Appleton replied: “Lots of things. The drive and the ambition of the board was pretty clear and pretty evident straight away.
“Through them and the owners there’s a clear – and I’m careful of using this word, because a lot of people use it in terms of project – there is a clear genuine project, you can tell that and I wanted to be a part of it.
“Very, very quickly during the interview process I bought into what they wanted to do and how they see the club going forward.
“It was very, very clear from really early on that I was definite to make sure that I was the one that impressed them to do that.”
Appleton added: “Developing players has always been a big part of my career anyway, so whether me taking that role as a youth team coach or actually being sort of out there as a first team manager.
“There is a big, big difference because ultimately you’ve got to be brave enough.
“I’ve put players in situations that makes it difficult for them, but at the same time they feel comfortable enough to produce what they are capable of doing.
“Developing the young talent that they’ve got here.
“The academy is an incredible academy – help them to do that, have success.
“What does success look like? Well clearly the club wants to be competing in the Championship.
“That is a key thing for us to do. I want to be the person that allows them to do that and gets them to do that.”
Appleton oversaw yesterday morning’s training session at Sparrows Lane and revealed everything went well on day one.
“It feels great,” the new boss said.
“The first day can be many things really – chaotic, which it has been a little bit as you can imagine.
“I feel like I’ve been pulled from pillar to post a little bit. It’s exciting.
“It’s as exciting for me as it probably is the players because the players get an opportunity to almost have a clean slate and a fresh start.
“I think today sort of proved what I wanted to prove for myself – that the fire was well and truly still in the belly and I’m really looking forward to the future.”
Appleton added: “It (training) was good.
“Obviously it is a fantastic facility. It is very different to how I remember it from the last time I was here from being honest.
“It was just an old building so that has been a pleasant surprise. The lads have responded well today. We’ve worked hard.
“Obviously we’ve got the opportunity to have a full week next week without actually having a game tomorrow.
“They will deserve their weekend because their physical output today was tough.”
