DIEGO Poyet made his debut from the bench in last night’s 3-0 FA Cup win at Oxford and hopes it will be the first of many appearances in the red and white of Charlton.
The 18-year-old was introduced for Dale Stephens at the Kassam Stadium late on with the Addicks already comfortably through to a fourth round tie at Huddersfield thanks to Yann Kermorgant’s brace and an individual effort from Danny Green.
Highly-rated midfielder Poyet has been kept under wraps until now by Chris Powell but long-term he is aiming to follow in the footsteps of fellow Valley academy graduates Chris Solly and Jordan Cousins by establishing himself in the first team.
“I think Jordan has proven himself a lot now,” said Poyet.
“He is playing every league game as well, I’ve just had a little run out of about 10 or 15 minutes.
“I think I’ll have to keep playing well and doing well with the U21s to really prove myself.
“Every single time if I am lucky enough to get another couple of minutes, just prove myself as much as possible.
“If the chance comes I’ve got to take it.
“Chris Powell said I’m a player who is in his plans for the future, which is always encouraging and keeps me going really.
“I’m happy here, I’m happy to have played tonight and I just want to carry on working hard.
“I’ve been speaking about a bit of a longer-term deal.
“My agent would obviously have to speak to the club and try and sort everything out, but yeah I see my future at Charlton.”
For now, though, Poyet was just happy to bask in the memory of last night’s appearance at Oxford.
He explained: “It was a great moment, it was a moment I will never forget.
“I’ve been at Charlton since 11. I’m 18 now so I was very, very happy to come on the pitch.
“When the gaffer told me I was absolutely buzzing to get on.
“I’ve worked with a lot of coaches at Charlton because I’ve been here for many years.
“Every coach has played a part in a different way but at the moment I’ve got Jason Euell and I think he has helped me this year as well, so I’ll have to give him a call.”
Poyet added: “The players should take the credit for the result, they played really, really well tonight.
“It is a hard place to come here, especially after the first game, and they did well.
“They were the ones who really in a way made it possible for me to come on.
“It would have been tough for me to come on if it was close or still a draw, but at 3-0 when they were dominating the game it was much easier for me.
“It gave the gaffer more of a chance to put me on.”
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