With loved ones murmuring ‘you must be mad’ and surprised pets gratefully gulping down early breakfast bonuses, we passed the milk float fleet and dodged the nightclub stragglers, on our way to make the uncivilised 5am departure from the Unibol, courtesy of Sky Sports TV, for the long trip to the Valley to face the Addicks.

For those who could stay awake, there was lots to discuss with the transfer window stepping up a gear on Friday and the mistaken identity fiasco on Tuesday night. Would we miss Will Aimson, Owen Beck and Kieron Sadlier?

Would Victor Adeboyejo and Cameron Jerome slot straight into the side? Would we lack punch up front with Elias Kachunga being suspended? How would we line up defensively to accommodate the return of Rico Santos and Gethin Jones? How would we fare against Charlton Athletic, rapidly improving under new manager and ex-Wanderer Dean Holden? It was like playing a live version of Football Manager.

Looking forward to a full English breakfast en-route, our hopes were shattered when we pulled into Northampton services at 07:30am to discover that the breakfast café did not open to 8.30am. A ham and cheese toastie from Costa Coffee hardly satisfied our Hunger Games. The cost of living crisis hit home as we managed to squeeze a pint of Meantime Anytime IPA in at the ground at an astronomical £6.80.

We started at a cracking pace and took the lead with a brilliant free kick from Aaron Morley within four minutes. In the first half, we could and should have buried them with the chances we created. Within 20 seconds of the restart, Charlton caught us napping and were level. But we had enough character to weather the storm and come back to clinch a fully deserved win through Dion Charles.

The new players looked good with Victor Adeboyejo proving to be a real handful. As in every transfer window, Ian Evatt has to make difficult decisions over who leaves and who comes in, while balancing the books. Only time will tell if he has got it right again. The early signs are promising.