Charlton manager, Lee Bowyer, has stated that the biggest reason his side are doing so well this season is because of their fitness levels.

The Addicks are currently sitting in the automatic-promotion places having stayed unbeaten during their first six games of the Championship season.

They been excellent so far, and have picked up some crucial wins at the likes of Reading and Blackburn.

With the international break now upon us, Bowyer has opened the lid on what has made this Charlton side so hard to beat this season.

Speaking to London News Online, Bowyer said: “The players just don’t stop until the end. That makes a massive difference. Our fitness is different to other teams – we are getting stronger at the end of games.

“Okay, you have to take Brentford out of that but we had played on the Wednesday. That was the only one where we looked really tired at the end. Saturday we looked strong. Our subs made the difference when they came on. As a group, as a squad, we are in a really good place.

“I think [the fitness] is down to the way we train. Our intensity in training is really, really high. Other clubs might not train at the same intensity. We’re getting fitter from training every day and when we go into games we are taking that intensity into them."

The Verdict

Bowyer's side are incredibly fit. They run around and chase the opposition all game, and against Reading they actually grew stronger, the longer the game went on.

The substitutes have been key for the Addicks and Bowyer has used them expertly at different points of games. They've added fresh impetus and vigour to the Charlton side when they've needed it most.

They sit second in the league, and have surprised almost every team they've faced, if they are to keep it up then it will be one of the surprise stories of the Championship season.