Charlton Athletic owner Thomas Sandgaard has revealed to the South London Press that Johnnie Jackson will trigger an extension clause within his current contract if he finishes in a certain league position. 

Jackson was handed the job as manager on a full time basis last Friday after impressing in his original interim role and will now be looking to continue his side's ascent up the Sky Bet League One table.

However it appears that the new Charlton boss will have to earn an extension to his existing deal after putting pen to paper at the Valley, with the Addicks seeming reluctant to commit to handing him too long a contract for the time being.

Now Sandgaard has revealed exactly how Jackson can earn such luxuries as he stated the following recently:

"That is position-related and is fairly generous in his favour. Subsequent seasons it is similar to that. At all times the club has the ability to extend it. I'd say as long as Johnnie performs reasonably well he is very secure in his job.

"There are benefits and power to the club in how that plays out. I don't want to be stuck with it if it turns out long term that wasn’t right."

Since taking on the role at the Valley following the sacking of Nigel Adkins, Jackson has since led the Addicks up to 12th in the league standings, underlining the fine job he has done so far.

However Charlton will be made to wait in their quest to continue their fine showings after their Boxing Day game against AFC Wimbledon was postponed due to a Covid outbreak in Jackson's squad.

The Verdict 

This is a good stance for Charlton to take in the grand scheme of things as it gives them an easy excuse if things don't go well for Jackson in the long term.

As has been seen at many clubs in the past, handing long contracts to managers doesn't always work out well and if things go badly, you end up paying out thousands, sometimes millions in compensation if you sack them.

Therefore basing extensions around performances and results on the pitch makes perfect sense from a financial point of view.

Jackson has certainly done a great job so far and now the pressure will be on for him to continue to deliver for Sandgaard and the club as a whole.