Charlton Athletic picked up one point over the Easter weekend after their 2-1 home defeat to Bristol City was followed up by a battling point away to Watford.
With all the sides stuck in the relegation mire facing off against each other on Easter Monday and the Addicks facing a difficult task away to the Hornets, this could have potentially have been a weekend where they would be looking over the shoulder at the drop zone.
In the end all of these teams failed to win and seize the initiative in the relegation battle and the Reds remain a comfortable eight points ahead of 22nd place Leicester City with five games to go.
With Charlton on the verge of securing a consecutive season back in the Championship having been relegated in their last two years at this level in 2015/16 and 2019/20 all eyes will be on how the South East London side can solidify their status in the second tier in 2026/27.
Here are a few ways in which Charlton can look to improve on recent performances in their last fice matches of the season and looking ahead to next season.
Tyreece Campbell has come under increasing scrutiny from Charlton fans in recent weeks owing to his poor end-product and his lack of tracking back defensively.
He has also been booed when he wasn’t taken off in the defeat against Norwich City and received chants of useless in their most recent home fixture against Bristol City after missing a guilt-edged chance to bring the scores level.
In his favoured position of left winger, the 22-year-old terrorised Watford’s Kevin Keben drawing a yellow card and also laying a chance on a place for Greg Docherty, which the Charlton captain failed to capitalise on.
A youth product of Charlton’s fabled academy, Campbell was moved to left-wing-back after Luke Chambers came off for Joe Rankin Costello in the second half where many of his defensive deficiencies laid bare and he wasn’t able to attack in the vigour that he was in the opening period of the game.
Playing him in that position or up front does not suit his skill set, but with manager Nathan Jones choosing to adopt a wing-back system, it looks like Campbell is often the odd one out despite his pace and direct play being an important component to move the Addicks up the pitch.
The Jamaican international’s lack of end product is clearly evident having scored just the three times and laying on three assists for his team mates in 42 matches and with his contract expiring at the end of the season (the club have a year option) Jones needs to find a way to use him effectively or look to move on.
After making a costly error in the defeat against Bristol City that ended up being the winning goal, Will Mannion bounced back with a man of the match performance making nine saves to stop the Hornets from taking all three points.
After original first choice goalkeeper Thomas Kaminski suffered an injury in their draw against West Brom back in February, Mannion has filled in expertly well even when the Polish keeper returned to the matchday squad for the game against Oxford.
With Thomas Kaminski out the matchday squad again for the trip to Vicarage Road on Monday, rumours have swelled over his future at the club and whether the 33-year-old has played his last game for the club.
With Mannion having not played a minute except for matches in the Carabao and FA Cups until getting his chance in the team, all the discussion will now revolve whether the 27-year-old former Cambridge goalkeeper will be the first choice ahead of the upcoming season.
Time will find out if the Reds delve into the market for a new number one keeper or someone who can push Mannion between the sticks as the clubs looks to evolve and improve on a multitde of positions to increase the quality and depth of the team.
Charlton have won just two of their last eight games at home, including losing four of their last five against Portsmouth, Wrexham, Norwich City and Bristol City which is in stark contrast of their recent away form where they are unbeaten in their last six games.
The Addicks lost just three times at home in the Championship in 2025 and won just the twice on the road in that calendar year, Jones needs to find a way to match strong form on their own patch and away from The Valley to help improve on their current 18th place in the table.
Slow starts have been a problem in front of their own fans having conceded five out of those seven goals in the first half in those four defeats as they have struggled to impose themselves and take a foothold on the game.
After suffering a crushing 4-0 defeat to Millwall in January, the Reds have remained unbeaten away from home since then which has been built on strong defensive foundations having not conceded more than a solitary goal in any of these matches, including two clean sheets.
A back to basics approach may be needed ahead of their final three games at The Valley this season against Preston, Ipswich Town and Hull City respectively where they will be hoping to finish the season off strongly.
