Middlesbrough v Charlton Athletic

WITH one win in their last seven games, Charlton head to fellow strugglers Middlesbrough on Saturday, desperate for points to avoid the ignominy of being bottom of the Premiership at Christmas.

As fans demonstrated after Tuesday’s Carling Cup humiliation by Wycombe, head coach Les Reed had to be smuggled out of a side entrance amid calls for him to be sacked.

But he insisted: "I believe I’m the man to get this club out of trouble and take it forward. I’m a Charlton fan.

"If I wasn’t in the dug-out I would be in with the supporters cheering the team on. I understand their frustrations and I know we must listen to what they have to say."

Charlton will not only be without injured skipper Luke Young at Middlesbrough but also Andy Reid who has suffered a recurrence of a hamstring problem.

Central defender Talal El Karkouri and Hermann Hreidarsson, who were rested on Tuesday, look certain to return at the Riverside where striker Jimmy-Floyd Hasselbaink will be looking to put one over his former club.

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