Charlton manager Russell Slade is confident that his side can add a new face before the Addicks’ trip to Cheltenham on Tuesday following a disappointing opening-day 2-0 defeat away at Bury.
A Neil Danns penalty and a Kelvin Etuhu strike gave the hosts all three points at Gigg Lane as Slade’s men were left to reflect on a dismal first showing of the new season.
After the match, the former Cardiff gaffer admitted that he is extremely hopeful of a new signing before midweek, to boost the lack of depth that was clearly evident in the squad with an average age of below 20 on the substitute bench.
Nevertheless, while striker Josh Magennis has been strongly linked with the South East London outfit, Slade was not giving much away as to who he hopes to see arrive in SE7.
He said: “We’re hoping to add one before Tuesday.
“I can’t reveal who, it’s still quite delicate and I don’t want to say too much about it before then.
“We’re a long way down the line so I’ll be very confident that we can do it.”
Despite some glimpses of opportunities, Charlton struggled to create any real openings, only a Ricky Holmes shot that deflected off the bar and a long-range Nicky Ajose attempt caused any real danger for the hosts.
However, Slade was more frustrated with the lack of basics from his side, pointing out Jason Pearce’s needless pullback on Tom Pope from a corner as a deciding factor in the Addicks’ defeat.
“You don’t want to get off to a disappointing start but that’s what happened, especially when you don’t value the basics,” said the 55-year old.
“We conceded from a corner and penalty today, and that’s about trying to deal with the basics. We lacked discipline to drag a player down and give a penalty away.
“They’re the home team, this is League One, and this is what it’s like. It was a physical contest, it wasn’t pretty but we just didn’t value the basics.”
Heading into Tuesday’s away Capital One Cup clash against Cheltenham, Slade revealed he is planning changes meaning the likes of Brandon Hanlan, Karlan Ahearne-Grant and Ollie Muldoon could all feature.
“Inevitably there will be a few changes on Tuesday, we’re in on Sunday and we will brush ourselves down on Tuesday ready for the match.
“It wasn’t a classic performance today but we should’ve walked away from this match with at least a share of the spoils.
“We won individual battles and started to get on the ball but we needed more concentration and focus and we need to do that on Tuesday.”
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