Addicks can be nullified – Furman

DEAN FURMAN

DEAN FURMAN insists Athletic won’t be intimidated by tomorrow’s trip to Charlton in Coca-Cola League One.

The 21-year-old midfield player says Athletic will take the fight to their more illustrious opponents, even though the Boundary Park side have never won at Charlton in 21 visits.

Furman, bought in the summer from Glasgow Rangers, said: “I would say the pressure is off us to a degree as they are one of the bigger teams in the league.

“They have only just come down to this division and they are looking to go straight back up.

“We have our own ambitions and we are not going there to lie down because they are a big team. We are going to try to win the game.” Furman admitted that when the fixture list was published Athletic’s players looked to see when they were tackling the likes of Leeds and Charlton.

But he added: “Every game is a big game and it doesn’t matter how big the team is, you can only get three points.

“We have to treat every game in the same way and make sure we apply ourselves in the right way irrespective of who we are playing.”

Furman believes Athletic have already shown they are a match for any team on the road as they have won at Leyton Orient and Southend and drawn at Brentford.

And Furman says the spirit in the camp at Boundary Park has been lifted by a points haul of 10 from a possible 12 to move from the relegation places to the fringe of the play-off spots.

Furman feels the new-look team has started to knit together after there were eight debutants in the starting line-up against Stockport on the opening day of the season.

He said: “There are a lot of new lads and in the first few games of the season I think that was evident.

“We are a new team, we are starting to come together and things are beginning to gel. As the season goes on, I think we will only get better.”

Furman believes the sense of togetherness has improved.

He said: “We have already had a lot of long, away trips and the amount of time we have spent together has helped with bonding.

“Team-mates become like a second family and everyone gets close. And if you are winning, the long trips are also made a lot easier.

“The bonding off the pitch, in which everybody is there for one another, is important and can only stand us in good stead for the future.”

Furman also knows that sparkling performances at places like Charlton might enhance his prospects of playing in next summer’s World Cup finals in his native South Africa.

Furman has already been called up by his country, but has yet to play a full international.

Manager Dave Penney is viewing the match at Charlton as a barometer for the progress his team has made since he took charge.

He said: “It is not a million years ago that Charlton were playing in the Premier League and they still have some very good players.

“We had them watched in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy against Barnet on Tuesday.

“The Valley is a great stage on which to play football and our players should thrive on going there, although it will be a tough match.”

Charlton tumbled from the Premier League to League One in the space of two disastrous years.

They have lost only one of their first 11 league matches to lie second in the table behind Leeds as they bid to reclaim Championship status at the first attempt.

Charlton possess a blend of youth and experience with senior players like Christian Dailly, Deon Burton, Frazer Richardson and Alex Bailey joined by young jewels such as Jonjo Shelvey and Tamer Tuna.

England youth international Shelvey became the Addicks’ youngest-ever player at the age of 16 years and 59 days in 2007/08 while Tuna, a 17-year-old striker, scored on his full debut on Tuesday in a 4-1 win against Barnet.

FIXTURES

TONIGHT - Hartlepool v Brentford, Southend v Southampton. TOMORROW - Carlisle v Norwich, Charlton v Athletic, Gillingham v Wycombe, Huddersfield v Exeter, Leyton Orient v Colchester, MK Dons v Walsall, Swindon v Millwall, Yeovil v Brighton.