CHARLTON manager Alan Pardew has confessed for the first time that he was warned off taking the job before his appointment as Les Reed's successor.

Pardew's rejuvenated Charlton won away for the first time since October, 2005 in beating Portsmouth 1-0 at Fratton Park on Saturday. In doing so they gave themselves a fighting chance of escaping relegation.

Asked if he expected or hoped to get out of trouble, he said: "I regard it as a challenge, though a lot of people said to me that it was a difficult scenario and it might not be advisable after my experiences at West Ham.

"I didn't see it that way and I thought to myself that if we could pull it off and escape relegation it would be magnificent - and I like that kind of challenge."

He added: "I'm already focussing on next season because we have so many players out of contract. But my big, big focus is keeping Charlton in the Premier League."

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