Charlton Athletic host Cambridge United this afternoon aiming to try and build on the impressive performance that helped them beat Ipswich Town 2-0 in midweek.

Johnnie Jackson has managed to make a lot of progress with this Charlton side since taking over as caretaker manager, but he is under pressure to continue that improvement moving forwards because he is wanting to get the chance to take on the job on a more permanent basis.

The Addicks have managed to climb up above their opponents in the table heading into this fixture and a victory would enable them to continue their upward trajectory.

Given the poor start to the campaign under Nigel Adkins, Charlton can not afford many slip-ups between now and the end of the season if they are to compete for a top-six position so this is another important match for them.

There will be things that Jackson will be wanting to see his side continue doing from his first run of games as caretaker manager, but there are also issues that he will know he needs to try and resolve over the festive period to help put him in the best position to land the job full time.

With that in mind, we take a look at TWO dilemmas facing Jackson heading into the Addicks’ clash with Cambridge…

Avoiding getting too carried away with recent form as players call for Jackson decision

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It is clear at this stage that most of, if not all of Charlton’s squad, want Jackson to be handed the chance to take over at The Valley on a permanent basis. That comes after he has managed to pick up an impressive 17 points from a possible 24 since over the last few weeks during his spell in caretaker charge.

Alex Gilbey has become the latest player to speak out over his desire to see Jackson get the job full time with him insisting that he has been brilliant with the squad and helping them turn around the results.

Therefore, it is looking like it will eventually be impossible for the club’s hierarchy to avoid handing him the job until at least the end of the campaign.

The only issue for Charlton is that the squad become so confident heading into games like this one against Cambridge that they become a little complacent.

The performance against Ipswich in midweek showed the standards that the players can reach, but it is vital that they concentrate in all their games and deliver that on a consistent basis.

As we saw earlier in the campaign, if Charlton are slightly off it in terms of a few details they will suffer disappointing results this season. Therefore, Jackson needs to drill into his players that although they have done a lot of good work so far, there is still a lot of work to do and plenty of hurdles to overcome this term.

 

 

Avoiding recent issues against teams below them in the table

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It has pretty much all been going swimmingly for Jackson at Charlton, but they could be in an even stronger position than they are now if they had not dropped points against both Shrewsbury Town and Morecambe in recent weeks. The Addicks were held to a 2-2 draw by Morecambe and lost 1-0 at Shrewsbury in what were two frustrating results against struggling sides.

The Addicks have picked up some excellent results against teams chasing promotion under Jackson with them beating Plymouth Argyle, holding Rotherham United and also winning at Sunderland.

Those results show the heights that the side can reach when they are at their best and the only thing stopping them from continuing their climb up the table will be complacency against lower teams.

Cambridge represents a side that could offer a potential issue for Charlton with the expectation being that the Addicks will have too much for them if they play to their best this afternoon.

However, Jackson will need to ensure that his side deliver the same level of performance against them as they did in the win over Ipswich in midweek.