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'No mass changes' ahead at The Valley

Pardew: “A lot of work has been done but we also need to refine one of two things"
Pardew: “A lot of work has been done but we also need to refine one of two things"

Charlton manager Alan Pardew and club chairman Richard Murray met this week to discuss the club’s long-term prospects ahead of next season.

Talks about players’ contracts were high on the agenda, though Pardew said those decisions would remain “in house.”

Charlton have dropped out of the play-off positions following one win in their last 10 games and Pardew admitted: “In view of our results I’ve had a meeting with the chairman and the board about what I think the vision should be for next year - regardless of what division we’re in.

“I haven’t spoken to any players about contracts and I won’t until the end of the season. But there will not be huge changes, as there were last summer.

“We have players whose form bodes well for next season in terms of the experience gained this season. Some have performed above what we expected, some have performed below expectations.

“We have a big squad so there will be changes but not mass changes. In making those big changes last summer, we are ahead of some other clubs.

“A lot of work has been done but we also need to refine one of two things.”

But he warned: “Every game can influence things between now and the end of the season. A lot of talking has been done about next season, though not in front of the players.”

He would not be drawn on a national newspaper report that Jerome Thomas would leave if the club failed to win promotion back to the Premier League.

He went on: “I want all Charlton supporters to realise we have a long-term strategy. Yes, there are borderline decisions to be made, right down to someone like Dorian Smith who is on loan at Tooting because he still hasn’t done enough to convince me he should be here next year. So it’s not just first team players.”

Midfielder Zheng Zhi and striker Andy Gray are both doubtful with heavy colds for Saturday’s match at Plymouth.

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