CHARLTON boss Phil Parkinson commended the work ethic of his side after their 1-0 win at Milton Keynes Dons kept them firmly in the automatic promotion hunt.

Loan striker Nicky Forster’s 65th minute penalty was the difference between the two sides.

And in a game where the home side fought extremely hard and played some impressive football, Parky was full of praise for the way his troops kept them at bay and left with the crucial three points.

He said: “It was a hard fought win.

"I thought it was a very professional performance from us as MK Dons are a good side and they made it difficult but I thought we were organised and solid as a team and we got that all-important goal.

“I thought the key thing today was that the three substitutes gave us a lift in the game.

"With all these games coming up, it’s important we have people on the bench who can come in and offer us those fresh legs as I feel the subs made the difference today.

“We said it was always going to be tight at the top and we didn’t expect it to be any different but all we can do is concentrate on winning the games we play.

"We won today and it keeps us in a challenging position.”

It appears a four-horse race for second place and automatic promotion to the Championship is emerging and Parky feels after two lung-busting performances on the road, Charlton are in as good a position as anyone to take advantage with one final run of results.

“I think we’ve got to prepare ourselves mentally until the last minute of the last game,” he added.

“And if that’s what it takes [to gain promotion] then we’re prepared to do that.

"If we’re still in with a shout come the Oldham game then that will be good for us.

“The Huddersfield result was a fantastic result for us last week and a very good performance and we followed that up today.

"If you go to Huddersfield and MK Dons and come away with four points, you’ve got to be very pleased and it sets us up nicely for Monday.

“Obviously Leeds have had a very good season but they’ve had a dip recently and and today’s result will be a crushing blow for them, but I’m focusing on Charlton.”

As far as individual performances were concerned, Parkinson didn’t know where to start.

But the obvious talking point among the onlooking press was the impressive display and first Charlton goal from Forster.

Parky said: “Nicky knows his way around the football pitch.

"He’s won the pen and stuck it away.

"In a big game like today you need someone with the courage to put the ball in the back of the net and I never doubted Nicky for courage, whether it’s taking a penalty or in open play.

“You want an experienced player in that situation and he stuck it away.”

The Charlton chief felt credit was also due at the opposite end of the pitch.

He said: “Darren Randolph was excellent. He’s very focused and I’m pleased for him to get a clean sheet as it’s very important for him.

“Sam Sodje and Dailly were also excellent today.

"Sodje likes to come and take on everything and Christian’s decent in the air but he’s very good at reading play and he’s got years of experience both at a top level and at international level.

“When you come into games of this nature, it’s great to look around the dressing room and see players like Sam Sodje and Christian Dailly in your ranks because a lot of the season is about character and mental toughness and I believe we’ve got that in abundance.”

While the result was a close one against a Dons side who had plenty of their own chances, the battling display is all the more applaudable considering the fact skipper Nicky Bailey and Deon Burton remained out with knocks.

Parky explained: “Bailey and Deon didn’t make today and as I said last week, in any game without your two top scorers you’re going to be slightly handicapped as they’re good players.

“Hopefully we can use this period as a rest period for them and they’ll come back refreshed to push us on for the last part of the season.”

Though Parkinson hopes to see them both fighting for contention against Carlisle on Monday, he feels the side which played against Huddersfield and the Dons will be more than capable of keeping the promotion hunt alive.

He said: “I’d say Nicky’s got more chance than Deon of making the Carlisle game but Semedo and Racon in the centre of midfield were immense today.

“They’ve got so much ability and I always think would I like to play against them as they never give you a second to relax on the ball.”