Caretaker manager Phil Parkinson took charge of Charlton at home for the first time on Saturday believing fate smiled on him when he was appointed Alan Pardew's successor.

Parkinson was in charge of Colchester when the Addicks were refused permission to speak to him about taking charge at The Valley in 2006. Deeply disappointed, he quit Colchester and moved to Hull City before returning south as Pardew's number two in 2007.

Parkinson said: "You can say that I believe in fate. It's quite extraordinary how things have turned out.

"The reason I left Colchester is they refused me permission to speak to Charlton. I was extremely disappointed - but I don’t want to go over old ground because I have a good relationship with the people at Colchester.

"After what happened then I regard it as a privilege to be in charge of Charlton, however long or short that is.

"I can promise our supporters that I will do everything possible to achieve the results needed to get us up the table."