Conor Washington: Move to Charlton last summer appealed – but I didn’t want to break my word
BY RICHARD CAWLEY
richard@slpmedia.co.uk
Conor Washington admits he really fancied the move to Charlton Athletic last summer – but didn’t want to go back on his word.
The 28-year-old was wanted by Addicks manager Lee Bowyer after the club were promoted to the Championship but ended up signing for Hearts.
Washington has ended up at The Valley 12 months later after a campaign to forget north of the border.
Not only did he spend four months out after snapping his hamstring but when he was finally fit the Scottish Premiership season was aborted due to Covid-19. The Edinburgh outfit went down as relegation was settled by points per game.
“The option to go to Charlton was big and was probably something I should have done – but I’m not in the business of going back on a decision and not honouring my word,” said Washington. “Pretty much everything was agreed with Hearts, other than the ink on the paper.
“I try and take the positives out of every situation and it was a huge learning curve. It was different football in a different country and we loved it in Edinburgh – Hearts are a huge club to play for and have a huge fanbase. But from a football point of view it was nothing but disappointment.
“We never got going as a group. I came in relatively late in pre-season and was using cup games as my friendlies almost. I got fit after the international break and then had a freak injury.
“I was desperate to get back but didn’t want to rush my rehab after months of not playing. I got back just after the new year. We needed a bit of impetus going forward but if I’m honest I was 60 or 70 per cent match fit. And the way I play is different to a lot of players – a lot of repeat sprints and high intensity running – you can’t replicate that with a physio, you need the tempo of a match.”
When Hearts were relegated to the Scottish Championship they needed players off the payroll. Kent-born Washington was instantly open to an exit.
“I saw it as a good route for me to get back down South,” he said.
“The style of play was a real big thing for me. The way a lot of teams set up against Hearts didn’t really suit me. When they came to Tynecastle, in front of 20,000 fans, they would sit deep and there was no room for me. I like to run the channels and get in behind. It’s not to say I can’t be effective in a game like that, but it’s not ideal.
“The manager here [Bowyer] was massive in me coming.
“But there are small things as well. I know there is a big pitch here and I know they want to get the ball forward quickly – even though he wants the team to play out – and cause damage in the final third.”
Washington is a proven scorer at League One level.
He got 13 in his first full campaign with Peterborough and had already netted 15 times by January the following season – leading to a £2.8million move to QPR.
“The aim is to get double figures as quickly as possible and then see where we can go from there,” he said. “I’ve been playing a slightly different role in pre-season and it is about adapting to what the manager is asking.
“I’m in the best shape I’ve been for a long time, which is strange hearing that from a footballer [following the pandemic] – but you don’t often get a condensed period where you can just focus on fitness and strength [during lockdown].
“When you’re in the middle of the season there is always another game and there isn’t a huge amount of time to improve.
“I was lucky – I managed to get some gym equipment, which was like gold dust. So I’d run three or four times a week and do three or four sessions in the gym.”
Washington should be heading into his peak years.
He was working as a postman and playing for St Ives Town – notching 64 goals in 60 matches – before a switch to Newport County, then in the Conference.
Posh snapped him up for an undisclosed fee in January 2014.
Four years after leaving St Ives he was representing Northern Ireland, qualifying through his Belfast-born grandmother, against Wales. He followed up by scoring against Slovenia in the next fixture.
“I went to uni for a year but just didn’t have a passion for what I was doing,” said Washington. “I came out of uni and had applied to be in the RAF – I took the job as a postman as a bit of a stop gap.
“I was never at a pro club. I had Peterborough and Norwich interested but it is not an enormous catchment area.
“There were a few other teams interested when I was at St Ives but it was tough to accept a move into a professional club on less money than what I was earning playing part-time. I’d have struggled to live on it, let alone be a professional footballer.
“My career has been a real whirlwind and dream come true. I still think there’s a lot to come from me, it’s why I wanted to work with a manager who wants to improve lads.
“I feel like I’m improving every day in training – I’ve only been in the pro game eight years and I haven’t had the technical background that a lot of other lads do.”
