Charlton Athletic manager Nathan Jones has thrown down the gauntlet as his side prepare to face the Wrexham “circus” at SToK Racecourse.
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Wrexham & Charlton are vying for automatic promotionJones braced for Racecourse "circus"Gearing up for a crucial clash against Red DragonsFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱Getty ImagesWHAT HAPPENED?
Wrexham, co-owned by Hollywood actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, are on the brink of achieving something truly remarkable: three straight promotions that would see them land in the Championship next season. After their gritty 2-1 win away at Blackpool on Monday, the Red Dragons now sit in second place in the League One table, holding a narrow two-point advantage over Wycombe Wanderers, who dropped to third following a heavy 4-0 home defeat to Charlton.
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Charlton themselves remain in the hunt for automatic promotion, albeit from a more distant position. The Addicks are currently in fourth, trailing Wrexham by four points. Their emphatic dismantling of Wycombe this past weekend has given them a flicker of hope, but they will need to win both remaining fixtures – starting with Saturday’s clash in North Wales – and hope other results go their way.
WHAT JONES SAID
Jones didn’t mince his words when talking about the upcoming fixture. While trying to maintain a professional tone, he couldn’t resist taking a swipe at the media frenzy surrounding Wrexham under Reynolds and McElhenney.
"All we do is take a game as it comes," the Charlton boss said in an interview with ITV4's English Football League Highlights show. "We are not looking at the play-offs, we are not looking at Burton at home on the final game. We'll finish, we'll debrief, we'll breathe a little bit and then we'll move forward with Wrexham. It's a bumper game, we have to go to the circus and see what we can get."
Getty Images SportWHAT NEXT?
Jones’s reference to a “circus” appears to be a not-so-subtle dig at the celebrity culture that now surrounds Wrexham. Yet, for all the noise, the Red Dragons have let their football do the talking, climbing up the League One table and proving they belong in the promotion conversation.
The visit from Charlton on Saturday, however, won’t be easy. With Jones rallying his side and stoking the flames ahead of the match, the visitors will be eager to cause an upset and reignite their own slim hopes of going up automatically.