Nathan Jones quashes ‘silly’ promotion talk as unbeaten Charlton beat Preston
The table-topping Addicks maintained their 100 cent start thanks to Karlan Grant’s goal.
Nathan Jones is not getting carried away with Charlton’s excellent start after watching them go top of the Championship table with a 1-0 victory over Preston.
The Addicks were tipped by the bookies to be one of the strugglers this season but have won their opening three matches in the second tier for the first time since 1992.
Karlan Grant, who rejoined Charlton on a free transfer in the summer after leaving West Brom, scored the only goal in the 56th minute.
Defeats on Saturday for Millwall and West Brom mean that Charlton, who finished 19th last season, are the only club in the division with a 100 percent record.
“Let’s not be silly – it’s three games,” said Jones, when asked about promotion aspirations. “We have got a long way to go. We’ll enjoy an hour or two tonight and then we’ll instantly start looking at West Brom on Wednesday.
“We won’t dare to do anything, nobody wins anything yet. If I had a time machine then I’d quickly zip to May and we’d be in the Premier League, but that is not the case.
“We thoroughly deserved it. They had one chance all game, apart from that we contained them.
“We stuck to our shape and tried to believe in what we did. We were excellent, apart from needing a little more cutting edge in the second half.
“It’s not so much that we are top of the league, it’s that we’ve got nine points from three games – that is a big haul. It is the manner as well. We have gone to West Ham and had to defend really well but in the other two games we have been well worth the wins.”
It is the first time Preston boss Paul Heckingbottom has lost to a Nathan Jones-led team, winning three of the previous four meetings.
North End have lost all three of their Championship matches this season, and Heckingbottom said: “It was in both boxes where it went wrong.
“Until they scored we were very good. It was a horrible goal. Really poor. For the control we had, we would have liked to create more.
“When we were chasing it they got more attempts and broke on us, but that is going to happen when you go 4-2-4 and leave the space.
“I know what is missing and we have to work on it. That was the difference for me – Charlton are willing the ball into the net at the minute and finding a way. I would have taken a far worse performance and the points today.
“We had spells of control but that becomes secondary, it’s about winning.
“Everyone is gutted in there, it’s a frustrating one for us to take. You have to make things go for you, you can’t feel sorry for yourselves. You’ve got to make the ball go in the net.”