'I'm not going to suddenly hang him out to dry - Kayne Ramsay is a wonderful player'
Charlton Athletic boss Jones on defender's red card setback against Millwall and total conviction Charlie Kelman will deliver goods in Championship
Charlton Athletic manager Nathan Jones has emphasised he is still a big believer in Kayne Ramsay despite his costly red card in today’s 1-1 draw against Millwall.
The Addicks have not won a south London derby against today’s opponents in 29 years.
Sonny Carey’s goal shortly before half-time - his first since joining in the summer transfer window after his contract at Blackpool expired - put the hosts in front at The Valley.
Picture: Kyle Andrews
But Ramsay, 24, was booked twice in the second period, both for fouls on Millwall winger Aidomo Emakhu, leading to him being dismissed by referee Robert Madley in the 74th minute.
The right-sided centre-back’s marching orders meant it became about Charlton trying to edge over the line at a numerical disadvantage.
But Millwall substitute Ra’ees Bangura-Williams struck in the 88th minute, shortly after seeing a goal chalked off for handball, to deny the Addicks at the death.
Jones talked in his post-match press conference about Ramsay’s sending off changing the course of the match - adding it was “a moment of madness” from the former Southampton and Harrogate Town defender.
“My opinion won’t change on Kayne,” Jones told South London Sport: Charlton Athletic Edition. “I’m not suddenly going to hang him out to dry and say this, this and this. Kayne is a wonderful player. He has a certain level of ability. What he has to do is bring all those things together.
“He needs concentration levels. At the minute he gets away with a lot, because he is quick, strong and powerful. But the Championship has quick, strong and powerful people. The Premier League has quicker and even more powerful people. If you want to constantly test yourself against the levels above then your level has to come up.
“You’re not a Premier League player playing at League One, for example, and can suddenly turn it on and off. That is probably his learning curve.
“What he has to do is learn. But everyone out on that football pitch has to learn. There is not one player - out of the starting 22 and all the subs - that is a complete footballer on the pitch. If they were then they would be playing for Real Madrid and winning the Ballon d’Or - that is what complete footballers do. We all have to learn.
“I’ve spoken enough now about the thing that changed the game, but Kayne is one of our best players. He allows us to play a certain way because of how good he is.”
It is the second time that Charlton have been sucker punched in SE7 this season.
Abdul Fatawu earned Leicester City a fortunate 1-0 victory last month with a stunning finish.
On that occasion it was three points which slipped through the Addicks’ fingers.
This time around they did bank something for their efforts, but not what their Welsh boss felt they merited.
Picture: Kyle Andrews
“That moment (Ramsay’s sending off) changed the game,” said Jones. “It allowed them an extra player, it allowed them to gain territory and a bit more control in the game. Ultimately they scored from one of their opportunities.
“We haven’t come up to the Championship and found that we are struggling to be at the level. At no point are we struggling. We are aggressive and going after everyone. We are taking games to people.
“If people come here thinking ‘Charlton will be the easy walkovers’ - that isn’t the case.
“We are a good Championship side. There is an excellent Championship side in there if we bring everything together. We will evolve and get better, like we did last season. But we have to learn quickly. If we don’t then we won’t be in the position we want to be in.”
Jones made one change to his starting line-up from the loss at QPR before the international break - Charlie Kelman starting ahead of Miles Leaburn.
The 23-year-old forward has made seven appearances since his transfer from QPR and is yet to open his goal account.
Kelman had a 61-minute outing against Millwall before being replaced. Asked if it had been the former USA U20 international’s best performance yet in Charlton colours, Jones responded: “Absolutely. He was much more involved and he looked a threat.
“I keep saying about it but it will take a bit of time - firstly for us to get the best out of him, to really get momentum, plus his pre-season was so disjointed due to the transfer. It was the same with Harvey Knibbs, Rob Apter and some of the others.
“It is a waiting game and time thing with him. But I’m really pleased. He has looked really sharp. When Miles came on he was excellent.
“We have got an excellent Championship squad and that is a credit to the owners, the board and people at the football club. I’ve got no problem with our squad. I think we’re good enough. It’s up to me to mould them into a team that can compete and win football games.
“That’s the only disappointing thing. We should be sitting here with six home points (from the last two matches at The Valley) but we weren’t clinical enough against Leicester and today one moment cost us.”
Another media outlet asked if Jones was convinced that Kelman was a Championship-quality player.
“He is a Championship player,” responded the Addicks boss. “He plays for Charlton - and Charlton are in the Championship. So he is a Championship player.
“It takes time when you go to a new club. We’ve had 10 new players. We’ve come quickly - from 18th in League One to now being a Championship football team. It has happened in 16 months, so the evolution process has been pretty meteoric.
“There were 11,000 fans at games when I came here. Now it is electric. We are evolving at a rate but we’re still evolving. So in a year’s time, ask me that question.”