Charlton boss Alan Pardew hopes Luke Varney can fire the club back into the Premier League.
Striker starting to settle at The Valley
Charlton boss Alan Pardew hopes Luke Varney can help fire the club back into the Premier League after finally finding his feet at the Valley.
The striker grabbed a brace on Friday night to give the Addicks a 2-0 victory over arch-rivals Crystal Palace, taking his tally for the season to seven.
He had initially struggled to adapt to life in the Championship following his summer switch from League One side Crewe, but with his confidence now on the rise his manager is expecting big things from him.
Belief
"He works very hard for the team and you could see the joy from the other players when he scored," said Pardew
"If he believed in himself a bit more he can be a really terrific player. He sometimes doubts himself so we are really pleased for him.
"It's a big jump for him, from non-league and then a great spell at Crewe, and now he's at an ex-Premier League side.
"But he's handling it well and we are starting to see the fruits of him settling in at the club."
Struggling
The victory over the Eagles consolidated the Addicks' spot in the play-offs and Pardew was delighted to get back to winning ways so soon after the disappointing 1-0 defeat to Scunthorpe last Saturday.
"We were very disappointed then because we feel we have a good side but consistency is our problem," he added.
"We are struggling to get a run of five or six results, but if we reach those heights (against Palace) every week we'll have a great chance."
Warnock
Palace boss Neil Warnock was understandably unhappy with his side's performance and has now seen the Eagles go three games without a win, a run which is damaging their ambitions of breaking into the top six.
"I was disappointed with our first-half, we never got going," he said.
"I enjoyed the second half and I felt we gave them a game. But certain things went against us.
"We've got an honest bunch of lads but we need to create more chances. But anyone can get into the play-offs."
