Bowyer: I had to make the players believe again

A long interview with Lee Bowyer about how he became involved with Charlton again: The Coaches' Voice

Recalling when he took over as caretaker manager he says: 'When I first took over, they’d won one in their last eight and the players were dented because they thought they were out of the playoffs. My job was to make them believe again. I knew they were good. All I had to do was make them believe that. If they pulled together as one, then that was even better: don’t play as individuals, play as a team.' He talks about how George Lapslie reminded him of Scott Parker.

'From day one, I was honest with them: if anyone wants to play as an individual, they won’t play. I’ll only play people who are going to play for the team. They had to work hard, too. Training became a lot more physical. More intense. I believe that you should train the way you play because you can’t turn it on and off.'

Bowyer also said: 'It’s become the place that I left as a 19-year-old: a family club where the crowd and the players are all as one.'