CHARLTON columnist MATT FRICKER argues the Addicks’ League One rivals are turning to mind games to try and knock Chris Powell’s side off their promotion pathway.

IT is starting to appear opposition teams – managers and players alike - are turning to mind games to try and disrupt Chris Powell’s side as the season progresses and Charlton continue to move one step closer to the Championship.

At least it seems that way.

Following the win over Sheffield Wednesday, Owls manager Gary Megson said it would take something exceptional to stop Charlton, a claim I agreed with in this column last week.

However, Powell has revealed he thinks it’s just Megson trying to either cause the Addicks to become over confident and slip up, or force the chasing pack, including his own Wednesday team, to up their game and push the leaders from SE7 right to the final game.

But Megson wasn’t the only person to take a swing at the Addicks as former Charlton centre back Miguel Llera, who was released by the club in the summer, announced he thought Powell’s men had been lucky to reach the top of the table.

It was a statement which surprised many and baffled many more, as it made Llera sound like he was trying to hit back at a team which had deemed him surplus to requirements during a period when some 90 per cent of the playing staff had also left the club.

On Saturday I saw the Addicks defeat Sheffield United 1-0.

I wasn’t at Hillsborough but by all accounts the Blades win was very similar to the fixture a week before against Sheffield Wednesday.

Charlton captain Johnnie Jackson used unbelievable tekkers once again to score a marvellous free-kick and the Addicks won the game through dogged defending and luck as the opposition failed to hit the target.

To say Blades manager Danny Wilson was irate in the post-match conference would be something of an understatement really, as he was visibly upset at the result and the melee towards the end of the match which saw United striker James Beattie sent off for violent conduct.

At the end of the game when emotions are still very raw, you can sound overly upset and this may have been the case for Wilson.

This said, he pointed out several moments in the match he was disappointed in, including the sending off, although I can categorically disagree with his claims.

Wilson argued Darel Russell was deservedly sent off for a challenge that is clear on the video replays, but Yann Kermorgant should have also been sent off for his involvement in the ensuing fracas.

Unfortunately for Wilson’s argument I, along with most of the journalists in the press conference, had already seen the replay of the dismissals several times on footage I had filmed for the club.

Russell’s red card was very harsh, while Kermorgant was silly but not overly violent towards the opposition player and therefore a yellow card was sufficient.

Beattie, however, clearly has his hands around Kermorgant’s throat and a red card is the only option that a referee is left with in that situation.

But if Charlton have to put up with these sorts of mind games for the rest of the season as they continue to win on the pitch, I think I can live with it.

Come on you Addicks!

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