Coventry City v Charlton Athletic

JEROME THOMAS is being made to wait for his Charlton recall by manager Alan Pardew.

The Addicks boss, who a week ago strongly criticised the England Under-21 international midfielder's mindset, looks certain to leave him out of the squad for a fourth consecutive match at Coventry on Saturday.

Pardew said: "If Jerome is not 100 per cent focused then he's no good to me.

"I'm trying to get him fully focused and he trained very well on Thursday and I want the same on Friday.

"After that I will assess his situation."

Pardew, who made 10 changes to the side that beat Leicester on Saturday for Tuesday's Carling Cup defeat at Luton, looks likely to name an unchanged side for a third successive league match when Charlton face former manager Iain Dowie at the Ricoh Arena.

Charlton fans blame Dowie for the club's relegation from the Premier League last season and he is certain to receive a hot reception.

But Pardew insists: "I have no problems with Iain. He’ll be going into the game on the back of a fantastic midweek win in the Carling Cup at Old Trafford.

"My assistant, Phil Parkinson, went to the game and he tells me that Coventry played very, very well.

"It would have been a tough game for us anyway, but even more so now."