Rosler: Pressure is all on Charlton

Fleetwood Town Head Coach Uwe Rosler (left) and then Milton Keynes Dons manager Karl Robinson exchange words on the touchline

Town will make their first league visit to The Valley and Rosler is looking forward to testing his wits against his pal Robinson.

Rosler says Charlton, along with Bolton and Sheffield United, have beaten his club to players over the last two transfer windows, with Robinson recently bringing in striker Stephy Mavididi and winger Nathan Byrne on loan from Arsenal and Wigan.

Rosler stressed the pressure is on the three big-budget clubs. He said: “Karl is a good friend of mine. We support each other and I also hope Charlton realise what a diamond they have got now.

“They had a very good manager in Russell Slade, who is also a good friend of mine, and now they have a very good manager and I hope they give him time to bring the club up.

“They have won three of their last five games and have two games in hand on us. They are a little bit under the radar.

“But as much as I like Karl, he can’t deny that clubs like Charlton, Bolton, Sheffield United have to be in the top six. Anything else is a disaster for those clubs.

“In the summer transfer window, we lost a player who was sitting in my office to Sheffield United. We lost a player in this window to Bolton and one who was sitting in my office to Charlton – but we still got our transfer targets done.

“But that shows what we are up against – three clubs who are massive, in stature, the history, the budgets. It will be very difficult for Karl to deny that.

“I know he will try to surprise me and I will try to surprise him, but in the end it is always about the players.

“Going to The Valley is a fantastic experience for us as Fleetwood Town. People are taking us more seriously and try to stop us, but it is more about us, how we address the game and how fresh we are.

“How you come out of the blocks is important at Charlton. When we start well, I think the big pitch will suit us.

“They still attract top players in our league. They sold Ademola Lookman (to Everton) for £7.5m, plus add ons to £10m, so they had fresh capital to invest. We are not playing against an average team – we are playing against a top team.”