Darren Pratley has praised manager Lee Bowyer for keeping Charlton's off-field problems out of the dressing room as they mount a promotion challenge.

The Addicks face Sunderland this weekend for a place in the Championship, having come through a gruelling encounter with Doncaster in midweek. They lost 3-2 on the night, but won through on penalties to secure a place at Wembley.

They've been beset by off-field problems all season, owner Roland Duchatelet has been looking to sell the club but in the meantime has been letting them fall apart.

Youth players haven't had water, players have been sold and not replaced and as yet, there's no new deal on the table for Lee Bowyer. Pratley has told how none of this has mattered thanks to the former Leeds midfielder keeping all of the political wranglings out of the changing room.

“What off-field drama?” he quipped in the News Shopper.

“He’s (Bowyer) not brought that into the changing room. I’ve been at clubs before where that filters in to the changing room, but he just lets us concentrate on our football.

“Whatever else is going on out there we don’t care about. We concentrate on football, and that’s probably why we’ve done so well.”

A late surge saw Bowyer's side finish third in the table form they've carried over into the play-offs.

The Verdict

Lee Bowyer has certainly surprised me.

He's proven himself to be a capable and assured manager, good with his players and better with his tactics.

To shield the squad from the circus in the boardroom is quite an achievement and he's got to be one of the hottest managerial properties in the game right now because of it.