Charlton 0-2 Birmingham City

Charlton remain in the Championship relegation zone after suffering a fourth successive league defeat, the sixth loss at The Valley already this term.

Federico Macheda struck twice, once in each half, as relegation-rivals Birmingham moved nine points ahead of Powell’s side.

And the Charlton boss conceded he faces an uphill battle in keeping the club up, and potentially keeping his job, if they do not start getting points.

“Being a football manager you are always under pressure unless you are top of your league,” said Powell.

“I spoke to the owner last week and I’m sure I’ll speak to him again over the weekend.

“But I know I need results, the team and the club do and we’re not getting them at the moment.

“We do need to push ourselves away from where we are at. We have been getting results in the cup, but I would rather swap them for Championship results.”

Charlton, who had four home debutants in their starting XI, did start the Blues encounter brightly, however.

Astrit Ajdarevic looked particularly comfortable in possession and Powell believes bedding in his new players as quickly as possible will prove crucial to their survival chances.

He explained: “It is something we have had to get on with straight away - involving them in everything we do and looking after them.

“They have got to get used to us and the way it is in the Championship. They are good guys, they have all come in, and they want to lend their qualities to the team and the squad.

“We have done our best to make sure they get straight into the swing of things with regards to playing style and fitness.

“Making their home debuts was a big moment for them playing here at The Valley for the first time.”

Powell added: “Reza Ghoochannejhad I thought made some really intelligent runs, he is quite exciting but of course in the end the pace caught up with him.

“Astrit is a good technician and if we can get him in the right areas to produce those qualities then he will be a very good acquisition for us.

“Yohann Thuram-Ulien I don’t think had much chance with either of the goals and for a keeper, especially on that pitch, he did ok.

“Young Diego Poyet looked for the football, he was very brave and those are the things that you have to look for in players.

“It is time to be brave now to get ourselves out of the bottom three.

“Him and Astrit stood out really well with regards to their touches and quality.

“You could see that they want the football and they want to be involved, that is good to see.”

The problems with the Valley surface have been well documented and Powell felt it didn’t do his side any favours again, although he is challenging his squad to get used to the problem quickly and deal with it.

“Our pitch isn’t conducive to good football,” the SE7 manager admitted.

“We had some decent passages of play but we’re just going to have to be brave and fight our way out of this situation.

“They both created and the chances were there, but Birmingham scored at crucial times.”

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