PHIL Parkinson is confident Charlton are edging closer to finally landing their transfer targets.

With the window set to close at the end of this month, the Addicks chief knows time may not be on his side but there is no sense of panic at The Valley yet.

“There has been progress,” he said.

“For all different types of reasons a lot of the deals for new players can be protracted and you’ve just got to hang in there and be patient.

“You target the players you want but also have ones underneath that just in case they don’t work out because the last thing you want to do is spend all your time chasing a certain player and at the end it is a fruitless chase and you don’t get him.

“Then you haven’t got anything as back up, so those contingency plans, as well as the first targets, are what we are working on.”

Parkinson added: “If we got another couple in now we would probably go with that through the window knowing we could use the emergency loan system.

“But we’ve already discussed it with the chairman right from the onset that this is going to be a smaller, tighter squad this year because of the finances.

“Within that we need versatility and that is why people like Johnnie Jackson, Matty Fry and Chris Solly offer us that versatility and those players are going to be crucial for us throughout the season.”

One man whose name keeps on being mentioned as a likely target is Dagenham striker Paul Benson.

Parky didn’t deny he was an admirer of the Daggers ace but hinted there hasn’t been any progress on the rumoured difference in valuation between the two clubs.

He said: “Paul Benson is one of several players we look and he has got a very good goal scoring record.

“John Still has been quoted as saying we’ve made a couple of offers, which we did, but that was quite a while ago.

“I’ve got my other eye on other options as well and that is what we are doing.”