Charlton Athletic defender Ryan Inniss has described new Addicks boss Nigel Adkins as a 'breath of fresh air' following his recent appointment.
Thomas Sandgaard, who purchased Charlton in 2020, was on the lookout for the first new manager of his tenure at the club following the sudden resignation of Lee Bowyer, who had managed the London club for three years.
Bowyer was on his way to his former club Birmingham City of the Championship, and it meant that a replacement would need to be sourced quickly.
Despite caretaker boss Johnnie Jackson recording a 3-2 success in his one and only match in charge against Bristol Rovers, it was Adkins who was chosen as Bowyer's successor.
A man who is used to promotions from the third tier of English football, Adkins has only managed two Charlton games but he is yet to lose, gaining four points from the two matches.
A new man at the helm brings different methods, and Addicks centre-back Inniss has been full of praise for his new manager and believes that everyone is on the same page to deliver the goal that is needed - Championship football.
“Really positive. He’s been a breath of fresh air," Inniss said of Adkins, per London News Online.
"I came back into training towards the end of the last regime. I wasn’t involved as much so I can’t really speak on that but it’s just all about what we’re going to do now and looking forward.
“It’s definitely been positive, a lot of structure, for all the boys there’s no grey areas really. There’s definitely more we can learn, we can do a lot better. But getting the basics of three points, clean sheet, the boys are speaking to each other. I really enjoyed it.
“It’s all about winning games at this stage of the season. The new manager has been in, we’ve had a little shuffle around staff-wise.
"But I feel like we’re all on the same page and we’re only going to grow from here. We can look upwards now hopefully.”
The Verdict
It's good to see that there is a unity amongst the squad at The Valley following Bowyer's departure.
It can be hard for a new manager to come in and make an impact when the previous boss hadn't done much wrong and was seemingly well-liked, but from what Inniss has said, Adkins is making all the right noises.
What will make Adkins' impact very apparent is Charlton now going on a winning streak following Friday's success against Doncaster - they want to make the play-offs and the only way to do that is to win games, starting with Saturday's clash against Sunderland.