CHARLTON keeper Nicky Weaver will be looking for his third consecutive home clean sheet when Barnsley visit The Valley on Saturday.

After a shaky start to life in the Championship, Alan Pardew's side have finally tightened up at the back to make SE7 an unhappy hunting ground for opposing strikers.

Consecutive clean sheets against Norwich and Leicester on home turf have helped propel the Addicks into the title race and given Weaver a welcome spell out of the spotlight.

He told News Shopper: "There is nothing worse as a goalkeeper when you don't really have much to do in games and you still end up letting two goals in every week.

"A couple of clean sheets at home have helped and hopefully now we can become a hard team to break down because we always look likely to score with the players we have going forward."

Despite the renewed sense of belief, Weaver is taking nothing for granted ahead of this weekend's clash with the Tykes.

He said: "They came up in 2006 and did really well and have had a decent start this year, so they are probably quite happy with that.

"It is going to be quite a big game for them coming down here to play at The Valley.

"Every game is difficult and we are going to have to make sure we play as well as we have done in the last couple of home matches to get the three points."

Weaver admitted it was a wrench to consider moving outside of the top flight when time was called on his Manchester City career this summer, but any doubts soon disappeared within moments of meeting Pardew for the first time.

He explained: "I didn't really want to step out of the Premiership at first, but I came down and met the manager and he convinced me.

"Just looking at the players he had already signed and the ones he told me he wanted to bring in, I knew the team he was assembling wouldn't be far away from promotion.

"It is clear to everyone what our aim is.

"Every team which comes down wants to bounce straight back up and we are no different.

"It is only the last couple of games we've really started to play like we know we can, so I think there is definitely more to come from this team."

Weaver had previously endured a controversial relationship with Charlton's fans after he made an offensive gesture to them at The Valley during the Addicks' last successful promotion campaign in 2000.

The keeper received plenty of stick on every return to the ground in Manchester City colours, but it is all water under the bridge as far as the new fans' favourite is concerned.

He said: "It was just a bit of banter and I enjoyed it as much as the supporters here did at the time.

"When I did come down here in the summer, one or two people made a bit of an issue about it, but I've never felt any bad feeling towards me from day one and hopefully the supporters have taken to me.

"I'm thoroughly enjoying being here and have no regrets about coming here at all because I want to be part of what I think will be a successful team."