Charlton Athletic are sat just outside the League One play off race, but with enough games in hand to ensconce themselves firmly in the top six come May.

Despite this, manager Karl Robinson has issued a rallying cry to supporters, as first reported by News Shopper. He claims the past 12 months have been amongst the toughest he's faced in football.

"We’ve worked very hard to get ourselves in this position, we’re a few points off the play-offs with two games in hand. With all the rubbish that’s gone on this year in relation to the injuries, it’s quite remarkable that we’ve put ourselves in a position to be competitive. All of the things I’ve done as a manager, this has been as hard a 12 months as I’ve gone through."

Robinson's side have suffered extensively from injuries so far this campaign, but it hasn't totally derailed their promotion push. Jay DaSilva and Ahmed Kashi are both out at the moment. DaSilva, on a season-long loan from Chelsea, has made 36 appearances but was forced off against Shrewsbury recently in a game Charlton lost 2-1.

Another top-flight loan player, Stephane Mavididi is also injured, he scored twice in five before coming off against Oxford. Charlton led 2-1 in that game, but two last minute goals switched the advantage in the visitors favour.

Robinson acknowledged there was little he could do about the missing players: "Fans will be frustrated with results. What we speak to you about, I’ve never ever, ever, not taken responsibility when I think we've done something wrong. At this moment in time, it is out of my control, it’s out of my staff’s control but we do have control over the players that are fit. We’re going to need the fans to get behind them. We’re going to lose some games and we’re going to have poor performances. But at this moment in time, we can’t let this (injuries)affect us."

Despite the run of injuries, the Addicks have lost just twice in nine matches and face some winnable games over the coming weeks. Wimbledon, Blackpool and Fleetwood all line up against Robinson's side, all looking to avoid relegation.

As for Robinson, he gained some crumbs of comfort from a recent 2-1 win against his former side MK Dons. Dismissed in October, he was out of work for just a single month before Charlton appointed him. Ahemd Kashi and Josh Magennis gave him a 2-1 win and some consolation after six years at Stadium MK.

The Verdict

Injuries can hit any side at any stage of the season and as an experienced manager Karl Robinson knows this. The tone of his rallying cry is surprising somewhat, they're in a great position to achieve a play-off place and that would be just reward for the hard work being put into rebuilding the club.

Karl Robinson is one of the best young managers out there at the moment and I've no doubt he thinks the latest statement is justified.

Some may consider it to be getting his excuses in early, but time will tell whether that is accurate or not.