By Paul Green at Wembley
NATHAN Jones reckons all the hard work paid off after Charlton Athletic returned to the Championship with a 1-0 Wembley play-off victory over Leyton Orient.
The Addicks endured five long years in League One but finally returned to the second tier thanks to Macaulay Gillesphey’s first-half free-kick which ultimately proved good enough to sink the O’s.
Jones arrived at The Valley in February 2024 with the club in disarray and even flirting with relegation to League Two.
Having steadied the ship and kept the SE7 outfit up last season, Jones has overseen an impressive transformation in his first full campaign in charge which has ultimately proved to be very successful.
Asked to explain his emotions after the play-off triumph, the Welshman said: “Masses of relief, a lot of euphoria, even more pride.
“We came into a club that was going backwards. We had to arrest that before we cold take it forward.
“It is not just the results that have got us to the Championship, it is the way we’ve done it and how we’ve built, how we’ve galvanised the football club.
“We’ve got everyone back to believing that Charlton can be a great club again because it is a great club, [with] great people right throughout.
“Those people have kept the club alive through some difficult times and today was just a culmination of sixteen months’ work, a lot of belief and a lot of sacrifice.”
Jones was also keen to praise the supporters and the board for sticking with the team during some tricky periods when things weren’t going so well.
He explained: “I’m so proud of the whole football club, everyone. The fans, especially for the 44 or 45,000 who turned up today.
“All the owners were here today. They saw what a football club they bought.
“They bought a shell of a club and now they are seeing something totally different.
“Then every member of staff who has worked so hard and the players deserve huge credit because they’ve gone through some stuff – they’ve had to sacrifice a lot.
“They’ve had to put up with me demanding, demanding and demanding, which isn’t easy at times.
“It’s the culmination of a lot of work.”
The opening exchanges were a cagey affair but Kanye Ramsey made a vital early block on Ollie O’Neill’s shot.
The breakthrough game just after the half hour when Charlton were awarded a free-kick 20 yards from goal following a foul on Tyreece Campbell.
Gillesphey stepped up to take the set-piece and beat Josh Keeley in the Orient goal to put the Addicks ahead.
Rarmani Edmonds-Green headed just wide from a Jamie Donley corner before the interval but it was Charlton who went in at the midway point still with their noses in front.
There were a few notable scares after the break as Jake Currie saw an effort deflected behind by Ramsay, Jordan Brown blazed over and Charlie Kelman’s attempt took a touch off Lloyd Jones on its way to hitting the crossbar.
At the other end Greg Docherty produced a shot from outside the box which was tipped over by Keeley and the O’s keeper had to be alert to push behind Chuks Aneke’s angled volley.
Charlton fans had to endure an eleven-minute spell of added-time following a prolonged gap in play due to a technical issue with the referee’s communication equipment to VAR.
But they held their nerve and will now be going toe-to-toe with the likes of Leicester City, Ipswich Town, Sheffield United and Jones’ former club Southampton next season.
“We’ve come a long way and we’ve had to build something – and we have,” the SE7 gaffer said.
“Now we have to add more quality, we have to continue to move forward because now we go into a different environment and it is slightly less forgiving.”
