DARREN Ward has seen his loyalties divided between table-topping parent club Wolves and his survival mission at the Valley, but his wrongly disallowed goal against second-placed Birmingham on Saturday served up a double blow.

Victory over the Blues on Saturday afternoon would have dealt a demoralising blow to the promotion-chasers in their tussle with Wanderers, while also lending the Addicks a slight chance of avoiding relegation.

But despite his current double loyalties, Ward remains uncertain of his future for next season whether it be fighting for his starting berth back at Molineux, helping Charlton bounce straight back up, or even a new challenge elsewhere.

He said: “There’s so many ifs and buts within my situation and I really haven’t thought about it.

“After the fifth or sixth option I thought it was best to just see what happens.

“For now I’m focused to keep Charlton up and that’s a priority.

“I’ve come here to do a job and my aim is to help keep Charlton up on and off the pitch. I didn’t join Charlton just for a bit of banter.

“I feel I should be playing for Wolves, but I’m not, so that’s the way it is. Wherever I go, I look to do my best.

“You just try to concentrate on the games, but it depends on the character as well.

“If you don’t really care about the games, you can say I’ve got another year left and that’s the way it is, but myself, I want to do well.

“Anything could happen, the play-offs with Wolves could still be an option.”

Things could have turned out so differently for Ward, who was all set to join Charlton on a permanent basis in the summer.

But he has nonetheless won over the Valley faithful despite only playing on loan, a rarity for a club which has arguably been damaged irreparably by the number of short-term loanees who have appeared for the first team since 2007.

Ward explained: “I was going to be joining Charlton in pre-season in a straight swap for Chris Iwelumo, but unfortunately that didn’t happen.

“I’ve got a reputation, a career and targets I still want to reach in my career. I’m 30 but I’ve always been a late developer anyway.

“I can’t believe that coming from Wolves and being here for 11 or 12 games now, we’re bottom of the league.

“It’s scary because we’ve got so many good players here.”

But while ownership of Ward’s contract may spark debate over the summer, something which looks likely to stay is Ward’s new bleach-blond hairstyle, the work of an overzealous stylist several weeks ago.

He added: “It was a little tips thing that turned into an all-over job.”

“The quicker it grows out the better because I’m getting married in two months.”