The Addicks go into their penultimate home game of the season with their fate already sealed.
Tuesday’s draw at Bolton enusred that the Trotters would finish bottom, and also extinguished Charlton’s flickering survival hopes.
The game could not be more different for visitors Brighton, they are in a three way dog fight with Burnley and Middlesbrough for the two automatic promotion places. The Seagulls have been in good form of late, and will be confident of returning to the South Coast with all three points.
Jose Riga faces a major task in lifting his players for the task. They were utterly dejected after the final whistle at the Macron, and Riga himself cut a diconsolate figure at Thursday’s sponsors’ dinner at The Valley.
Owner, Roland Duchatelet, visited the stadium earlier in the day, and the head coach was anxious to speak to him about his plans for next season.
Former Valley employee, Andrew Mills, recently head of recruitment at local rivals, Millwall, is on the short list for a similar job with the Addicks and may also have been a topic for discussion on Duchatelet’s agenda.
Next season has to be the club’s focus now, and Riga will want to go into the new campaign with some momentum.
Stephen Henderson seems likely to be omitted from the squad again, but Ahmed Kashi culd make his long awaited comeback from the bench.
The Addicks may look something like this:
Pope; Motta, Fanni, Teixeira, Fox; Harriott, Cousins, Diarra, Yun; Vetokele, Lookman.
Subs: Mitov, Solly, Lennon, Kashi, Jackson, Ba, Makienok.
Wiltshire’s Simon Hooper will be the man in tthe middle.
The season can not end soon enough for Charlton fans, and it is difficult to see past a win for Brighton. The Seagulls will be backed by by over 3,000 raucous followers, and it is likely to feel like a home game for them.
TAGS: Charlton Athletic