Charlton Athletic midfielder Luke Berry insists the team is remaining grounded despite breaking into the League One play-off positions with a 2-0 victory over Stevenage.
Berry struck shortly after half-time to seal the win at The Valley, following Matty Godden’s opener late in the first half. The result extended Charlton’s unbeaten league run to five games and fuelled growing optimism around their promotion push.
‘We can always look up’
While Berry acknowledged the significance of climbing into the play-off places, he stressed that the team’s ambitions should not stop there.
“It’s nice to be in that position, but it does not really mean anything yet until we get to the end of the season and we’re in there,” said Berry.
“We can always look up, we can try and get top four, top two—we can push it, there is no harm in pushing boundaries. We have done nothing yet; we just need to keep believing.”
Charlton’s next fixtures see them face relegation-threatened Peterborough United and promotion rivals Birmingham City, with Berry emphasising the need for a game-by-game approach.
“The main thing is to stay grounded,” he added. “We need to win the next game and the next game, that is how we need to approach it. That is the good thing about this group—there is no fear there. We feel like every single team we come up against, we can beat.”
Charlton’s form ‘clicking’ at the right time
The Addicks have been gathering momentum in recent weeks, with Berry believing the squad has now found its rhythm.
“It takes time sometimes to learn who you are playing with,” he admitted. “I was at Luton for a long time and was used to who I was playing with, so I’ve had to learn what people’s strengths are.
“There was one game against Northampton where it really clicked for a lot of the boys—like, ‘this is it, this is how we should be playing’—and since then we’ve shown that.”
Writer’s view
Charlton Athletic’s recent run of form has been impressive, but Berry’s words offer a crucial reminder that there is still plenty of work to do. While breaking into the play-off places is an achievement, the real challenge lies in maintaining consistency. With tough games ahead, their ability to stay composed and continue their upward trajectory will be the true test of their promotion credentials.
