Jose Riga told his players to block out any protests from Charlton fans before their 2-1 win against Birmingham.

Jorge Teixeira’s second-half injury-time header gave the Addicks three valuable points as other teams around them won - making sure the gap from safety stayed at six points.

With only seconds of the match played, hundreds of stress balls were thrown on to the pitch by Charlton supporters to show their frustration towards owner Roland Duchatelet.

Subsequently, the game was stopped for five minutes.

Riga made sure that his players would not be distracted by any protests during the game.

He said: “I told the players again and from day one, just be focused on your job - you can’t let anything else that is going on distract you.

“What’s happened has happened so just be focused on what we have to do.

“Similarly against Middlesbrough the players showed great character and they are professional.

“The circumstances are what they are but we have to do our jobs - that’s what I want to see.”

Despite dominating possession, the Addicks went behind in the 32nd minute when Jon Toral tapped in Paul Caddis’ lowly drilled cross.

Charlton equalised shortly after as Callum Harriott’s slip allowed Johann Berg Gudmundsson to smash the ball past Tomasz Kuszczak.

Gudmundsson and Morgan Fox had good opportunities at the start of the second-half but saw their efforts go narrowly wide. 

With an hour gone, Callum Harriott should have scored but he blasted the ball over the bar from close range. 

The winner came in injury-time when Jorge Teixeira emphatically met Ademola Lookman's corner to send the home crowd into jubilation. 

Riga spoke about how he is happy to have more players at his disposal - Igor Vetokele started his first game since January and Jordan Cousins recovered from a niggling injury.

The former Standard Liege boss also praised the fans, who supported their team until the last minute.

He added: “I have more players to pick from now and I would've preferred to have more earlier when I arrived.

“Anyway, with three games in seven days, it’s nice to see that I have better options.

“I know at the end of the day that the people are looking for the same.

“This is why I like England, when you show what you want, that you’re just sweating and working hard for the club - English fans will always be behind you.

“I want to share my happiness with the players and fans.”

Charlton face Ipswich in another vital game on Tuesday.