Nathan Jones has warned his Charlton Athletic team they have won nothing yet, despite their play-off final date at Wembley.
Welshman Jones - who has been touted as a candidate to take over at managerless Cardiff City - admitted he felt “relief” and “euphoria” after guiding Charlton into the League One play-off final with a gritty 1-0 win over Wycombe at The Valley.
In front of more than 24,000 supporters, the Addicks battled their way to victory thanks to a late strike from talisman Matt Godden, earning them a shot at promotion to the Championship when they face Leyton Orient at Wembley next Sunday.
Jones, who has revitalised Charlton’s season since taking charge, was quick to reflect on the journey and the scale of the task now ahead.
"It's a little bit of relief, a little bit of euphoria,” said Jones.
“It's a long season. We gave ourselves too much to do for automatic promotion. We started the season well, had October, November, then we've been on a wonderful, wonderful run.
“We've been a good side for a while and I just feel that's justification."
Wycombe made life difficult for the hosts and came close to taking the lead on more than one occasion.
Fred Onyedinma's surging run and the resulting chance for Garath McCleary brought the best out of Kayne Ramsay, whose double block also denied Xavier Simons in a critical late moment.
READ MORE: Nathan Jones . . . The Marmite Manager Who Might Just Spice Up Cardiff City
Still, it was Godden – scorer of 22 goals this season – who stepped up when it mattered most, finishing from close range after great work by Lloyd Jones to create the opening.
"Every single year, he [Godden] scores goals and if you get goalscorers, you're always in with a chance of winning games," said Jones.
"What happened last year was Charlton couldn't keep clean sheets. We've done that. We had to build, then we added fluency, a little bit of evolution in terms of our play, then you rely on good players to get you goals."
Despite the jubilation on the night, Jones was adamant that the job is far from complete.
"Tonight and tomorrow we'll let them loose and do whatever they want, then we're back on it. This is a great, great group and you don't get to this point without a great group because it's not about a manager or a striker, it is a collective effort. This group are hungry, they want to achieve something - and we're seeing the fruits of a lot of work.
"But we haven't achieved anything yet. What we've done is we've earned the right to take part in a wonderful occasion, but only the winner is remembered."
READ MORE: Nathan Jones Insists He’s Poised For Wembley Final
Charlton’s path to the final may have lacked fireworks in the early stages — Sunday’s goalless first leg and much of the second lacked urgency — but they delivered when it mattered most.
The decisive goal came from one of just three shots on target across the 90 minutes, highlighting both the tight margins and the quality needed at this level.
Now, with a place in the Championship within touching distance, Jones’ focus turns to one final push at Wembley, six years after Charlton last triumphed at the national stadium in a play-off final.
