Charlton manager hails 'all in' owner Thomas Sandgaard as club target long-term joy

Following the turbulent reign of Roland Duchatelet as the club's owner, the Addicks were bought out by Danish businessman Thomas Sandgaard in September 2020 in a move that was designed to get the club moving up through the divisions once again.

Unfortunately, doing so hasn't been plain sailing.

After earning promotion under Lee Bowyer in 2018/19, the south London side had hoped to consolidate their spot in the second tier of English football the following year, but unfortunately a lack of investment led to the club suffering an immediate return to League One.

This wasn't helped by losing players such as Joe Aribo, Patrick Bauer and Lyle Taylor during that rise and fall.

Following the start of the new era under Sangaard, Charlton have been slowly building in the right direction but fell agonisingly short last term after missing out on a spot in the play-offs on goal difference.

Meanwhile, this season has been a bit of a disaster with the club languishing in the bottom half of the third tier.

Johnnie Jackson is the man now in the hotseat at the Valley, and while the manager admits that it's been a frustrating year, he insists that the club are slowly moving in the right direction.

Speaking to White and Jordan, Jackson said: "I've seen it all, haven't I?

"We've been through some ups and downs and there was a period under Chris Powell where we had some success and I was really hoping that that would be the catalyst for the club to kick on, but that never happened.

"We went downwards from there, then we got momentum under Lee Bowyer and myself when we managed to get promoted to the Championship, but history repeated itself and we didn't get the help that we needed that season to make a real go of it and we found ourselves going backwards again.

"It's been disillusioning, but this time around under the owner Thomas Sandgaard there's some real positivity around the place and he's got some real ambitions for the football club. We'd like to think that the club is in a much better place now to kick on and hopefully those couple of decades that we spoke to are behind us."

Asked if being manager has been a tougher job than he expected, Jackson said: "I won't lie, it has.

"It started off really well and we were winning every week and you're thinking that this is a doddle, but you know that's not going to last.

"You only find out about yourself when you've been through the highs and the lows and that period in February when we went winless in seven was tough, really tough.

"We had a lot of injuries at the time and were at our most depleted when we faced the toughest run of fixtures, so it was really difficult with the guys missing to get the results to try and keep their confidence up.

"You learn a lot about yourself in those moments and we've come through it now.

"We've turned a corner, got some wins and, on reflection, every manager will have had a run like that and it makes you stronger in the long run because you learn about yourself and the people around you."

With Charlton 20 points off the play-off spots with just seven matches remaining, it means the club can turn their attention to the summer months and planning for what they hope will be a promotion-challenging campaign next time.

But while long-term success will be the aim, Jackson believes that it's essential the club look to end their season in style for the sake of the supporters.

"We've just got to try and win every game now," Jackson explained. "We really want to try and finish the season strongly.

"We had a tough run and the ambitions were to reach the play-offs, but that's been and gone and something that's not attainable.

"We need to finish the season strong and get a feel-good factor around the place to give the supporters and the people at the club some optimism and positivity so that they can go into next season knowing that we're in a good place and that we want to have a right go at it next year."

Asked about transfer plans, Jackson added: "I think it's a really important summer for us.

"Recruitment is going to be key to get the right players in the right positions, and also the right characters.

"I've got a clear idea of the type of squad that I want to build and the spirit and camaraderie that breeds success, I know what that looks like.

"As well as bringing in good players and playing the right type of football, we've got to have the right characters as well.

"It's a big summer for us. It's about keeping the right ones from this year that we've got a really good nucleus of, and adding to that in the right areas.

"We're going to need the owner's help with that and he's fully on board. It's important that we get it right and if we do I think we've got a great opportunity to take the club forward."