Coady 'loving' midfield role at Charlton

Conor Coady said he is relishing playing in midfield at Charlton Athletic since arriving on loan at the south-east London club from Wrexham.

The former England international has been plying his trade in the Championship this season after spending seven of the previous eight years in the Premier League with Wolverhampton Wanderers, Everton and Leicester City.

Coady has operated as a centre-back for most of his career since being converted from a midfielder to a full-time defender by Nuno Espirito Santo at Molineux at the start of the 2017-18 campaign.

But Addicks boss Nathan Jones has utilised Coady in a defensive midfield role since his arrival at The Valley at the end of the January transfer window.

"First and foremost, I'm loving it," Coady told BBC Sport. "It's something a little bit fresh for me, something a little bit new. The last time I played central midfield was probably 10 years ago.

"It's very refreshing and he [Jones] did tell me on the phone that was where he sees me, that he wanted me to come in and be in the middle of the pitch."

After starting the first five games of the season for Wrexham, minutes had been hard to come by for Coady, who had not played since 13 September before joining Charlton.

Coady said Jones rang him the last week of the transfer window and asked him to come in and "be an extension of the manager".

"That's something I'm trying to be every single day. I'm trying to improve, I'm trying to get better," the 33-year-old said.

"I know what my job is. I know what it was from the very first phone call I had with him and what he wanted from me.

"It's nice to be back in there, it's nice to be playing a different role again and just learning as much as I can. I'm loving every minute of being back involved.

"But the biggest thing about the job that I've been given to come to this club is to make this club better.

"I need to keep on making sure I'm providing that every single day, not just on game days, but every single day at the training ground as well to try and push people and try to finish the season as strongly as possible."

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Coady said his desire to move on loan only six months after joining Wrexham shows he is "just obsessed with playing football".

"I think if you look at the way my career's gone and the way the last few years have gone, I think it shows how much football means to me," he said.

"I've chased playing football, I play football to play, it's as simple as that, and I always have done.

"The fact that I'm at Charlton now, I'm loving every minute of it. I love the football club, I love what the manager brings."

Charlton have lost just one of the six games Coady has played, drawing three and winning two, including a 2-0 victory on his debut at Leicester on 31 January.

Coady was ineligible to face his parent club Wrexham on Saturday as the Addicks suffered a narrow 1-0 home defeat.

Despite that loss, which left Charlton 18th in the Championship and seven points clear of the relegation zone, Coady is "100% confident" they will stay up.

"Within the dressing room, we're trying to look at what's in front of us," Coady added.

"We've got some tough games coming up but this club thrives on playing against tough teams.

"It's about finishing the season as strong as possible and not looking behind us too much."

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