Charlton owner Roland Duchatelet has told News Shopper Bob Peeters’ desire to work with the club’s youngsters won him the role as new head coach at The Valley.
The 40-year-old former Millwall player got the nod over the man who kept the Addicks up last season, fellow Belgian Jose Riga.
When asked to explain why he had chosen Peeters, Duchatelet emphasised his willingness to bring homegrown talent into the first team.
“Because he has a very strong track record in detecting talent with the youth players and he isn’t afraid to put his head on the block by selecting youth players to play in the team,” the club’s owner explained.
“That’s the main reason.
“We want to develop our academy, which is a fantastic academy, and Bob is the right coach to give chances to young players who want to come and join us.
“The main goal is of course to stay up but also in fact we have another strategy than most of our competitors which is to develop the youth academy and work with young players.
Duchatelet, Bob Peeters and Richard Murray meet the press this morning
“That is the reason why we have chosen this coach.”
Riga was keen to carry on after proving a hit during his caretaker spell and Duchatelet admitted it had been a tough decision to make.
“He was a close contender because he also wants to play with youth players and so it was avery difficult choice because Jose did a fantastic job.
“It was a close decision but in the end we thought maybe there is a slight advantage to Bob Peeters.”
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