Charlton director: Lee Bowyer deserves longer contract

BY RICHARD CAWLEY

Charlton Athletic director Steve Gallen wants manager Lee Bowyer to be given a new contract by owner Roland Duchatelet.

The Addicks boss is out of contract at the end of June and has attracted interest from Huddersfield Town and Cardiff City this season.

Gallen, who is also the club’s head of recruitment, is a bridge to Duchatelet, who appears unwilling to hand lengthier terms to the management team while he looks to sell the Championship side.

“Lee’s contract is up in the summer and he needs to be given a longer contract,” Gallen told the Charlton Athletic Supporters’ Trust when he attended their recent AGM.  “He needs to be given some type of stability. We’re desperate for it. Lee really wants that.

“Roland is aware of this and he is no fool. But he feels that potential buyers might stall if they want to bring in their own people and see that it will cost them a lot to get the current team out. But I agree with the fans that Lee must be given a longer contract. We need to stop planning window to window and start thinking longer term.

“Being a director has helped me as an influencer within the club and I think Roland is beginning to trust me on a lot of things. For example, if I said in the summer that I wanted to buy a certain player, it pretty much got done whereas when I first arrived two and a half years ago it didn’t.

“We cannot have the situation of last summer again with all the confusion about whether Lee had left or not. There was probably some cat and mouse going on between Lee and Roland calling each other’s bluff but Lee was very calm about it.

“I do worry about Lee leaving sometimes. I speak to him about it and I know he doesn’t want to go anywhere. I don’t really know what you can do apart from voice it, maybe at games. Roland watches the games and if the fans are singing things – in a dignified and positive way – it will get heard.”