Charlton Athletic boss Dean Holden has explained his tactical decision making during the club's 1-1 draw with Wycombe Wanderers this weekend.

The Addicks had taken an early lead during the match, with Miles Leaburn's 16th minute strike putting them ahead at The Valley on Saturday afternoon.

However, they were pinned back late on, with Wycombe finding a breakthrough with just eight minutes remaining courtesy of Chris Forino-Joseph.

Interestingly, despite holding a lead until late on, Charlton boss Dean Holden opted not to make any substitutions during the clash.

That meant that the likes of Macaulay Bonne, Gavin Kilkenny and Daniel Kanu remained on the bench as unused substitutes.

Speaking after the match, Holden explained the logic behind not turning to his bench.

“I’m looking at the team and I’m thinking Miles (Leaburn) looks fine,” Holden told the media, explaining his thought process, via South London Press.

“Physically he looked fine and was always a threat to them.

“We could’ve changed up midfield.

"Maybe at one point, Albie Morgan went to a yellow card when we were 1-0 up and we were looking to change that one – because with 10 or 15 minutes to go we’d had three or four yellow cards.

“They then scored and we kept him on the pitch because he is an attacking-type midfielder who can maybe get us back into it.”

The result leaves Charlton Athletic sitting mid-table in the League One standings, with the Addicks occupying 12th place.

Unfortunately, with a 15 point deficit to Derby County in sixth, a late play-off push looks off the cards.

Dean Holden's side face Shrewsbury Town at The Valley up next, with kick-off on Saturday scheduled for 3PM UK time.

The Verdict

It really is not often that you see a manager choose to stick with the starting 11 on the pitch for the entire match.

That has been even more so the case in recent years, with the introduction of five substitutions.

Clearly, though, Holden felt that the best way to hang on to the result, and later, win the match, was to stick with those already on the pitch.

It was an interesting call, but one he clearly had a rationale for making, and given he is paid and employed by the football club to make those decisions, that is his choice.

You do wonder, though, given they held a lead until so late, whether or not Holden would make a change or two to try and protect the three points if he could turn back time.