Nathan Jones says the criticism he has faced in the past led to his emotional reaction at the end of Charlton Athletic’s League One play-off semi-final win.
Matty Godden’s 81st-minute strike gave the Addicks a 1-0 win over Wycombe Wanderers on aggregate to book their place in the final against London rivals Leyton Orient.
Jones dropped to his knees and prayed as the final whistle approached as he realised his first full season at Charlton would end at Wembley.
The Welshman took over at the Valley in February 2024 – his first job after an ill-fated 95-day spell in charge of Southampton.
He also endured a difficult 10 months at Stoke City, sandwiched between two periods as Luton Town boss – guiding the Hatters to promotion to League One in his first stay and leading them to the 2022 Championship play-offs in his second, having staved off relegation the season before.
“I was at a Premier League club where people thought I didn’t deserve to be there. Regardless of how much I had earnt the right and gone through three divisions and coached at the highest level, it didn’t make a difference,” Jones said after the win.
“So all those things you remember because they’re all on your CV, they’re all your body of work, they’re all the memories and the experiences that you have.
“So it was a bit of emotion to come out, and I thought we were excellent tonight.
“Just the pride and the relief more than anything to do that.”
The play-off final represents a high in the recent tumultuous history of Charlton.
The club were taken over by SE7 partners in 2023 after a number of controversial owners, and more than 25,000 fans packed into the Valley to see Charlton reach Wembley.
Jones says he has seen the potential at the club – who last played in the Premier League in 2007 and spent just one of the past nine seasons in the Championship.
“I’ve gone and met so-called big clubs, but they’re not – they’re not big clubs because they have a lot of fans turn up, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you’re a big club,” added Jones.
“This club is a big club. It’s got great owners, it’s got owners that make sound decisions – they’re very good businessmen.
“We’ve got an academy that is a conveyor belt. We’ve got a training ground that’s excellent, we’ve got a stadium that’s excellent.
“We’ve got a set of processes of recruiting staff, of acting, a culture and environment that is evolving and getting better and better and better.
“So the matchday is the tip of the iceberg, but underneath there’s real strength at this football club and that’s why we’re a big club.”
