NATHAN Jones is delighted that Charlton Athletic will start their Championship campaign at The Valley – and picked out a South London derby against Millwall as one fixture he is particularly looking forward to.
The Addicks kick off their first campaign back in the second tier in five years against Watford on August 9.
Charlton haven’t been beaten at home in sixteen league games going back to a 2-1 defeat to Crawley Town last December.
Jones will have a big task on his hands when his side meet the Lions (scheduled for September 13 at The Valley but with the time subject to change) as Charlton haven’t beaten Millwall since 1996, a run of twelve games.
Jones will also come up against two clubs he managed, Stoke City and Southampton.
“I’m really looking forward to being back at The Valley, I think it’s important we started here to get acclimatised to the Championship and to continue that momentum that we finished with in the play-offs,” Jones said on Charlton’s website. “We’re delighted to get underway in a league that we’ve worked so hard to get into.
“You look at the derbies like Millwall. You also look for your old clubs, and going back to Wales, as well as the fixtures around Christmas. We won’t put too much of an emphasis on individual games though, what we have to do is make sure we’re really competitive.”
Jones has signed Sonny Carey from Blackpool so far this summer. The Addicks are also close to deals for striker Isaac Olaofe from Stockport County, according to Alan Nixon, and, as Football Insider have reported, goalkeeper Thomas Kaminski from another of Jones’s former clubs, Luton Town.
Jones is expecting plenty more business.
He said: “It’s busy. It’ll be one of our toughest windows, in terms of finishing late and then going into a competitive league, with huge budgets where we’ll be competing against a different level of recruitment. It’s been a bit slower than usual, but we’re in a good place. We want to significantly improve the squad. We’re working tirelessly to do that.”
Charlton travel to Slovenia for a pre-season camp, including in a behind-closed-doors friendly against Croatian side HNK Gorica
Jones added: “Slovenia is pivotal to how we prepare, bedding in new players and nailing down tactics. There are also some real good bonding sessions out there, and a lot of goal setting. We are really looking forward to it. It’s a wonderful place, and they always look after us.”
