MICHAEL Appleton says he hasn’t seen anything yet to make him think Charlton can’t be involved in the promotion shake up this season.
Appleton has been at The Valley for just over two months now, winning seven of his 14 games in charge in all competitions and losing just twice.
That has taken the Addicks through to the next stages of both the FA Cup and EFL Trophy, as well as placing the club 11th in the League One table and just five points from the play-offs, a noticeable improvement from when he took over.
It is still all to play for with almost two thirds of the campaign remaining and the SE7 boss remains optimistic a return to Championship football is feasible.
Appleton said: “Why not? I would be amazed if there are teams down to maybe 15th, 16th or17th that don’t think they are capable of getting in or around the top six.
“There are 30 games to go and it is a hell of a lot of points to play for, 90 points between now and the end of the season if you are only on 16 games.
“I think there has to be the mentality that until it looks unrealistic, or the games are running out with maybe half a dozen or eight games to go, from a mentality point of view that is what we have to think.
“If we don’t think that then ultimately you just get sort of lost in just being part of the pack.
“From us it is a little bit more short-term than trying to think too far ahead, but if we can stay in and around where we are at, or a little bit better, then who knows.”
After a disappointing start to the season which cost Dean Holden his position, Appleton says developing a winning mentality was a key early priority, something he feels is now in place.
“It’s been great, I’ve enjoyed it,” he replied when asked to assess his time so far in the hotseat.
“I’ve enjoyed the challenge. Two of the biggest things I’ve tried to do – and alright, it is easy saying it as coaches when you first walk through the door, but then at the end you’ve got to do it – and one was the mentality.
“To almost demand that the players want to win and keep winning on a regular basis.
“Being at a club our size at this level, I think there is a demand from the fanbase that that happens.
“We’ve got to keep trying to do that, we’ve got to improve and get better.
“I watched the games prior and to me it was about shifting the mentality of playing forward a bit earlier at times, looking to be aggressive, people running without the ball.
“Those things – playing forward, running without the ball and the mentality – we are going to need going forward as well. But I do think that there has been a big shift in those three areas.”
Charlton now face eight games between now and the transfer window opening again in January, with Appleton keen to maintain the momentum his young side have been building under his leadership.
“All I want from a realism point of view is to continue in the vein that we are in at this moment in time in being ultra competitive and making sure every team we play knows they’ve been in a game,” he said.
“If we do that, we will certainly win more games than we lose.
“And if that is the case, then we won’t be a million miles away from either where we are at this moment in time, or slightly higher up the table.”
