Nathan Jones: Charlton must 'improve on every single level' after Championship promotion

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Evening Standard

·25 de maio de 2025

Nathan Jones: Charlton must 'improve on every single level' after Championship promotion

Addicks return to second tier after beating Leyton Orient

Nathan Jones has warned that Charlton must “improve on every single level” to be competitive in the Championship next season.

Vídeos OneFootball

The Addicks secured promotion to the second tier following five seasons in League One as they beat Leyton Orient 1-0 at Wembley in Sunday’s play-off final.

Macaulay Gillesphey’s free-kick proved the only goal of the game, with Charlton’s players enjoying reward for an excellent season under Jones, in which they finished fourth in the League One table before seeing off Wycombe and Orient in the play-offs.

“I’m really proud, I’m delighted, I’m euphoric,” Jones told Standard Sport at Wembley.

“It wasn’t fluid in any way, but we were defensively unbelievable, and we’ve been that all season. That’s got us the win today.”

There was a loud cheer from Charlton fans when Jones lifted the play-off winners’ trophy after his players had, and he said of his relationship with the supporters: “It does [mean a lot], but we have to build that.

“Given time, they see the work we do, the passion we show, and they also see we improve players, work hard — all the things you want to see from someone that works for your club, your business, your organisation.”

Asked how he and his players would celebrate their promotion on Sunday night, he replied: “I have no idea, but I’ll probably hit a brick wall in a few hours time. But up until then I’m just going to celebrate with all the people I care about.

“We have to build now. We have to improve on every single level, and then we’ll be competitive at the level we think we should be at.”

“Absolutely,” he added, when asked if he is confidence Charlton can cope with the level of the Championship.