Charlton Athletic and ex Coventry City star's bolshy 8-word reply to 'naive' Birmingham City brag

Charlton Athletic striker, and former Coventry City man, Matty Godden admitted that gloating from Birmingham City captain Krystian Bielik was 'all over the dressing room' in the run up to Saturday afternoon's impressive 1-0 victory at The Valley.

Despite losing their last three games, Nathan Jones' side put in a dominant performance against the league leaders, who didn't get a look in as the Addicks recorded a fifth win of the season. That came thanks to Godden, who fired home in the second half from a Josh Edwards long throw.

The striker, who signed at The Valley from the Blues' rivals Coventry City this summer for an undisclosed fee, spoke to the press after the match and was asked about comment from Bielik earlier this week.

Bielik - ‘We’re too good for League One’

The defender, who spent a season on loan at Charlton Athletic during the 2018/19 season, had told the BBC: "It seems like we always find a way to come back - we got two big punches in the face but we came back. Full credit to the players, the manager and coaching staff. We're working so hard for these sorts of games when it's not going your way in the beginning but we find a way to win.

"We're League One but I don't think there are any players in this team who are League One players. All of them are at a higher level. In six months' time, we'll be a Championship team and a different animal. We stay humble and keep our feet on the ground and we don't want to choke on it. But the reality is we're too good for League One."

When asked about if the players were aware of that head-turning interview on Saturday, Godden said: “Yeah. It was all over the dressing room.”

In response when quizzed as to whether his goal was made extra sweet given his five years at Coventry City, Godden said: "No! I celebrate every goal, I love scoring goals. I feel I bring a lot to the team but just love scoring goals, I’ve always done it.”

Nathan Jones labels Birmingham City man ‘naive’

Charlton Athletic manager Nathan Jones also labelled the Bielik comments as ‘naive’ as he too confronted the interview. He said: “It wasn’t that they would be a Championship club, they said they were too good to be League One. That gave us extra motivation.

“I’d tend to agree with him. It’s naive to come out and say that coming into a big game. If I believed I was one of the best looking guys in South East London, I’m not sure I’d say that going into a beauty contest.”

Birmingham City boss Chris Davies claimed to have ‘no idea’ that Bielik had said that. Davies explained: “I had no idea that he said that. From our point of view, we need to understand that it’s going to be a big challenge. Krystian understands that, I’m not sure exactly what was said but he understands the challenge that we face. Every game is a big one and a different test for us and that’s what we need to focus on.”