JASON Euell has stressed the importance of Charlton’s squad cohesion following his goal-scoring cameo in Saturday’s 2-0 FA Cup win against Carlisle United.
At the age of 34, Euell is the veteran of the Addicks squad and showed his experience by poaching Charlton’s second goal two minutes after coming on as a substitute after Michael Morrison had given the Addicks the lead.
Euell said: “I think when Yann crossed it there was a deflection just before it got to me which slowed the pace of the ball, so I’ve sort of gone in to volley the ball and its hit the bottom of my studs and trickled over the line.
“I actually thought it was going wide until I heard the crowd start cheering, so I’m thrilled with that.”
While his return to SE7 has been limited to fleeting first team appearances, Euell, who filled the left midfield role after replacing Cedric Evina, is not fazed by his support role.
He explained: “For me it’s just about getting minutes on the pitch and the team doing well, so I’m more than happy to get the goal just to make it more of a convincing win with a 2-0 result.
“Rather than having a 1-0 lead going into the last five minutes and maybe having to face an onslaught, we managed to get the second goal which puts us through nicely to the next round.”
Although it was his goal which secured a third round London derby at Premier League Fulham, Euell was keen to point out everyone in SE7 has a role to play between now and May.
He said: “It’s a squad game and we’re all going to play our part from now until the end of the season.
“Since the start of the season, the performances have been probably a 10 out of 10 from all of the players week in, week out.
“The way we’re playing and the way we’re performing means we’ve got to work hard on the training ground to keep those guys who are playing week in, week out on their toes.
“I think the gaffer knows it’s going to be difficult to come into games and expect a player to be 100 per cent.
“All he asks for you is to do as well as you can for the period of time.
“If it means going and running your socks into the ground for an hour, at least you’ve contributed and done your bit for the team.
“What it’s going to take from now until the end of the season is everybody putting in their little part in and trying to get us to where we want to get to.”
The fan favourite, who received the biggest cheer of the afternoon as he scored his 39th goal for the Addicks in his 170th appearance, revealed he hopes to add to his tally throughout the season.
Euell said: “I’d like to try score a lot more so I can keep hearing it.
“But for me it’s just a case of trying to help the squad out and be involved as much as I can try and get us all in the same direction that we want to take this club back to and that’s hopefully promotion at the end of the year.”
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