”It's baffling" - Nathan Jones slams Charlton Athletic players after Leyton Orient exploits | OneFootball

Charlton Athletic suffered a 2-0 loss to Leyton Orient on Tuesday night

Nathan Jones has slammed his Charlton Athletic players for their performance in the 2-0 loss to Leyton Orient on Tuesday night.

The Addicks were eliminated from the EFL Trophy courtesy of goals from Charlie Kelman and Dan Agyei, both of which were scored in stoppage time of the second half.

This will be a disappointing blow for the London club, who will miss out on the opportunity for silverware.

Charlton’s focus will now turn to their League One campaign, where they will be looking to improve their results in order to earn a top-six finish this year.

Nathan Jones criticises Charlton defeat

Jones has claimed that Charlton’s performance in the loss to Leyton Orient was worse than any he’d seen before due to how easy it was to get through them and create chances.

While he admitted the number of changes to the side were significant, he has singled out issues involving athleticism, desire, and structure that will need to be worked on in order to improve results.

"I can't remember [being carved open as much as that],” said Jones, via Louis Mendez of the BBC on Twitter.

“With the greatest of respect, I've played against Man City and they didn't have a shot on target.

“To have 16, 17 shots against you against, with the greatest of respect, Leyton Orient, it's baffling.

"But we made nine changes.

“A lot of players who haven't played. [Dan] Potts, [Rarmani Edmonds-Green]. People who haven't played.

“That showed tonight because we were so far off it.

"Every time we turned the ball over they looked like they could score.

“Whether that was desire, structure, athleticism, we were so far off tonight.

“We are statistically the best side in the league, defensively, but you never would have thought that tonight.

"I've learned a lot tonight.

“The squad I've inherited, players I've inherited that, you know, you can't change everything overnight.

“That's proved today. I've learned a lot tonight.”

Jones clearly feels the squad still needs a lot of work in order to become competitive, which is surely a hint towards potential January business.

It could be a busy month for the club if they want to bridge the gap to the top six this season.

Charlton are currently 12th in the table and have won just one of their last eight in the league, leaving them eight points adrift of the play-offs.

While that is a gap that can still be closed down in the remainder of the term, Jones will surely be hoping for one or two additions in the new year to help.