Are Charlton a sleeping giant beginning to wake?

"People say it's a sleeping giant but I feel like it's starting to wake up."

Charlie Kelman saw first hand that Charlton Athletic had finally emerged from their five-year slumber.

The 23-year-old striker stood with his defeated Leyton Orient team-mates on the turf as Nathan Jones and the Addicks players climbed the Wembley steps and celebrated with the League One play-off final winners' trophy in May.

It was a brutal end to a stellar season on loan with the O's for Kelman, where he topped the league's scoring charts with 21 goals.

Just over two months after the Addicks had sealed promotion to the Championship, Kelman was signed on a permanent deal from Queens Park Rangers and is poised to make his debut at The Valley against Watford on Saturday.

"For me this was my number one choice. Straight away, as soon as there was interest this was the club for me, there was no other place I wanted to go. I made that clear and it took five and a half weeks but we got it done," he told BBC Radio London.

"[I came] Because of the gaffer, because of the size of the club.

"From the outside looking in, the project they're building is very exciting and I want to play my part in that."

Charlton twice won promotion to the Premier League and established themselves as a top-tier club in a golden era between 1998 and 2007.

Alan Curbishley was at the helm for much of that success but left in 2006. They were relegated the following year under Alan Pardew.

Since then fans have seen multiple changes of ownership, a transfer embargo and relegation to League One.

"We've gone through a lot of different owners and managers and that's shown why we were where we were," former Addicks defender Paul Mortimer told BBC Sport.

Jones was hired in February 2024 and has brought steady progress, from a 16th-placed finish that year to a strong run of results that ended with promotion in his second season.

"The good thing about last year was there was a period where in another time he could have lost his job - we were terrible," Mortimer, who played 226 times across two spells at the club, said.

"And then all of a sudden we went on this fantastic run - because they backed him. And they've got to do that again this year."

Charlton kept 23 clean sheets in League One last season, including one in each of the play-off semi-final legs against Wycombe Wanderers and in the final victory over Orient.

And the Addicks have only lost twice in the league at The Valley during his time in charge.

"Now that's going to get tested to the maximum because we've gone up a level [and will be playing] against sides who are used to competing in Premier Leagues, not just League One," he said.

Former Luton Town and Southampton boss Jones said the first priority is securing survival in the Championship - but ultimately has his sights set higher.

"That has to be the ambition, playing at the highest level - to take this club back to where it's been. It's not pie in the sky because this club's been in the Premier League," he said.

"We know what we feel is a realistic timescale but to do that you have to keep moving forward and this is another season where we have to move forward."

As well as Kelman, Charlton have signed players including Thomas Kaminski, Reece Burke and Amari'i Bell from Luton, Tanto Olaofe from Stockport County, Blackburn's Joe Rankin-Costello, Rob Apter from Blackpool and, most recently, Harvey Knibbs from Reading.

Following Saturday's visit of Watford, Jones' side host Stevenage in the Carabao Cup first round before travelling to Bristol City. Leicester City (home) follows before a London derby double-header against QPR (away) and Millwall (home).

BBC Radio London's Charlton reporter Louis Mendez said the mood among fans is positive going into the new season.

"The fanbase are really buying into it - there's going to be a really high attendance against Watford on Saturday. Highest one in about 15 or 16 years on an opening day," he said.

"I don't think anyone's expecting Charlton to storm to promotion again. There's an understanding it's going to be a difficult step up."

Listen to live commentary of Charlton v Watford on BBC Radio London on Saturday, 9 August [kick-off 12:30 BST] and follow live updates on the BBC Sport website and app.