Nathan Jones takes aim at Stoke City fans after Charlton Athletic's 4-0 drubbing | OneFootball

The Addicks boss saw his side be heavily defeated against his former club on Saturday

Charlton Athletic manager Nathan Jones was quick to take aim at supporters of his former club, Stoke City, after the Addicks were heavily defeated 4-0 at the Bet365 Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Charlton's 100% record was ended by West Bromwich Albion in midweek despite a credible point still being picked up at The Hawthorns, but they suffered their first league defeat of the season in rather humiliating fashion in North Staffordshire.

Despite this, other results across the second tier this weekend mean that the South London side remain inside the division's restructured play-off places after just five matches played, even if Jones saw his side's goal difference take a major downturn in the meantime.

The Welshman is, arguably, one of the most divisive figures in the EFL at present, with supporters of rival fanbases often quick to dismiss his personality in interviews and in the dugout during matches.

Since taking charge of Luton Town in 2016, Jones has endured a rather mixed managerial career to-date, with success at Kenilworth Road and with Charlton coming either side of frustrating spells with Stoke and Southampton.

As such, Potters supporters are still not the fondest of the Addicks boss, and that appeared to be the case this weekend, with Jones quick to fire a dig back at those in the stands during his post-match assessment.

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After recording their first victory of the season against Norwich City on Tuesday night, Mark Robins' Stoke were fastest out of the traps against Charlton despite selling key creator, Sorba Thomas, to Hull City on Deadline Day.

One of their high-profile recruits, Justin Devenny, opened the scoring with a 15th-minute penalty and rounded it off five minutes before the break after further goals from fellow summer additions, Ethan Galbraith and George Hirst.

Charlton also had Danny McNamara sent off after 50 minutes in what was a grim afternoon for Jones, who won just seven of his 38 matches in charge of Stoke between January and November 2019.

After receiving plenty of stick from the home support, the Addicks boss told the BBC post-match: “I don’t want to speak too much about Stoke fans. They've have had it tough. They've come out of the Premier League, spent probably £300m and it hasn’t worked for some reason.

“What they've got to pray for is that I come back every week because they seem more vocal and their team plays a little bit better when I come back, but I won’t be back for a year so they are going to have to find their own way," he added.

Nathan Jones will be seeking revenge against Stoke City later in the season

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There are, of course, elements to Jones' verdict which do hold truth, as Stoke have invested heavily in multiple transfer windows across the past eight years, but have never threatened to break into the Championship's play-off places.

During his time at the club, he took over from Gary Rowett in a season which the Potters were earmarked as pre-season promotion favourites but failed to live up to expectations, eventually finishing 16th, before being sacked months later and being replaced by Michael O'Neill with his side sat second-bottom.

Saturday's drubbing in the Potteries also comes 11 months after Charlton were defeated 3-0 at Jones' former stomping ground, but after emerging 1-0 victors in the reverse fixture at The Valley, he will be hoping the same fate applies again in April 2027.

Charlton Athletic have still defied early-season expectations

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Despite the manner of their defeat this weekend, Charlton have still defied early-season expectations, with many predicting the London outfit for a season of struggle and relegation to League One.

There are still 41 matches to be played, but if Jones' side can replicate their performances against Derby County, West Ham United and Preston North End then supporters in SE7 will not be overly concerned.

They also have the immediate chance to respond to this setback with a home fixture against Queens Park Rangers on Wednesday night, whilst Jones will have to wait a handful of months to see if his aforementioned comments work for, or against him, when Stoke travel to The Valley next year.