THOMAS SANDGAARD boldly tried to lure a Champions League-winning manager to Charlton this summer.
The ambitious Addicks owner thumbed through high-calibre applicants after he parted with Johnnie Jackson at the end of last season.
But Sandgaard himself decided to approach a household name who has not only won the Champions League but other European and domestic titles too.
The Dane said: “He got back to me, liked the project and had nothing but praise for this club. However, because of family reasons, the timing wasn’t right for him.
“But he was interested in coming here, which is a compliment to the stature of Charlton Athletic.”
Although Sandgaard did not land his man, it shows his level of ambition for Charlton, who have been outside the top flight for 15 years and are set for their third consecutive season in League One.
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But the US-based businessman insists he is making Charlton “Premier League ready” almost two years after saving them from financial meltdown.
He said: “When we took over, it was about building a platform so we could eventually get to where we wanted to be.
“But of course it takes forever because it hasn’t just been one thing or a hundred things but more like a THOUSAND things to sort out — especially on the business side.
“Charlton has been mis-managed or not run well for many, many years and, although I would’ve liked us to be promoted by now, I don’t think we’d have been ready so it’s probably better.
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“When we go up, I want us to be Premier League-ready off the field and that is what we’ve been doing.
“This is one of the biggest business turnarounds you could possibly encounter.
“Just imagine this club was three days away from going into administration. You cannot just turn that around after years of mismanagement and suddenly get a couple of quick promotions to the Premier League and be a roaring success. That just doesn’t happen.
“There are so many things that need to be slowly rebuilt at this club — and that’s what we’re doing.”
Sandgaard firmly believes Charlton have not been realising their revenue-earning potential, which he insists is huge despite the club currently competing in the third tier.
And the Dane has spent almost the entire summer in the UK trying to sort out the business side of things.
He said: “Even to this day Charlton is a massive club with a huge fan base. We’ve a big geographical area not just in terms of talent we can tap into for the academy but also the fan base.
“There are so many more revenue possibilities we’re not realising.
“We can TREBLE our revenue even in League One — that’s how crazy it is. The fact the club has not done this before is a mystery but we’re now beginning to make improvements — better sponsorship streams, better hospitality and how about filling the stadium when you consider how big our fanbase is?
“Our average crowd last season was less than 16,000 but we can fit more than 27,000 in the ground.
“We had a number of efforts last season, including Fill The Valley in October and November, but it made no real impact.
“Our employees tried a lot of things that didn’t work but we KNOW the potential is there and I assume we’ll do a little better this season.”
Sandgaard acknowledges that the cost of living crisis will have an impact on fans — and although ticket prices have had to increase between five to 10 per cent, due to higher expenses, they remain lower compared to other clubs in the London area. And prices were frozen for early season-ticket purchases.
But the Dane knows full well the biggest product Charlton have to offer is football — and he is confident the club can serve up a more attractive brand that will give them a better chance of winning promotion.
Eyebrows were raised in some quarters when Ben Garner was named manager, who had been managing Swindon in League Two last season.
And Sandgaard admits: “I was in that camp too.
“I had interviewed a lot of people and the big positive for me was we had some high level, very qualified managers interested in the job. Some of them had long-standing experience in the Premier League.
“Also we had some who had good Championship and League One experience.
“We were about to negotiate with some of them and it wasn’t until late in the process my son Martin, who is our director of analysis, recommended there were a couple of League Two managers we should look at too.
“And one of them was Ben Garner. I thought, ‘No, we’re not doing that.’ Yet Martin persuaded me to talk to them and when I interviewed Ben he ticked every box.
“It wasn’t just the way he likes to play and how he can fit players into the system we want. Martin and our head of recruitment Steve Gallen had been observing him in terms of his man-management and how he manages a game when things get hectic.
“He’s a calm, collective, well-rounded person who fits well in terms of what we want to accomplish.
“Luckily we don’t have any prima donnas in the dressing room. We have strong personalities there as well as people who are a little quirky and quiet.
“But one thing we do know: Ben’s going to be on them, making sure they’re the fittest they’ve ever been — always encouraging them to play out from the back and play forward without fear.
“That is better than kicking the long ball, which we did way too much last season. It’s of course an option but should never be the first choice.”
Sandgaard wants everyone at Charlton to have a Premier League mindset and aim to be there in five years.
He added: “It’s possible. I want everyone coming to work thinking we’re going to be Premier League ready in everything we do.
“Charlton TV is one of those things and the quality of what we put on the website should be like we’re a Premier League club as well as every time we put out a press release. The way we do things should be professional.
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“Even at the training ground, we want to prepare the kits for the players with the mindset we’re in the Premier League.
“With more wins and more promotions we will get there. We must think like that.”