ALAN PARDEW defiantly stood his ground in the face of mounting criticism and insisted that Charlton were far from finished in their pursuit of a play-off place.

As the club’s promotion campaign showed signs of disintegrating after slipping to ninth with Saturday’s third defeat in eight days at Ipswich, the manager insisted they still carry a threat.

He declared: “We’re far from finished and still carry a major threat. I’m talking about a threat to go up, not just making the play-offs.

“We must carry that threat to West Bromwich Albion on Friday and get the win we badly need.

“The team has proved that it can be indifferent at times but it has also touched levels that other teams cannot reach. We must hit some semblance of form, put together a run of unbeaten games and get through the play-offs.

“I believe there is enough quality in the squad to carry a major threat.”