INTO The Valley . . . Wanderers will enter one of the most intimidating arenas in Division One tomorrow when they bid to end a run that has brought just one point from three games! Charlton's 15,000 season ticket holders, who have been given big incentives to stay loyal while the Addicks attempt to bounce straight back into the Premiership, are guaranteed to pump up the volume at the famous old stadium.

And such is the confidence in South East London, where they have made provision for 19,000 home supporters for the first time this season, that they aren't just hoping to be unbeaten at home this season, they actually EXPECT it.

Two wins out of two - against Barnsley and Norwich - suggest things are going according to plan on that score but a 2-1 defeat at Fulham last time out was such a poor show that Alan Curbishley kept his players on the pitch at the end to show the 3,500 travelling Charlton fans how disappointed he was! Difference

The manager might well remind his players of that public dressing down before he sends them out tomorrow. How they react will be the first serious test of character for a side many critics believed didn't deserve to be relegated from the Premiership - mind you, they collected four fewer points than Wanderers the year before and didn't have the agony of missing out on goal difference so they've not a lot to complain about!

Nevertheless, they are one of the fancied sides and, provided Mark Kinsella returns unscathed from three internationals in eight days with the Republic of Ireland (John Robinson survived an impressive performance for Wales), the midfield tussle with Frandsen and Co should be a cracker.

Clive Mendonca, who scored a hat-trick in the opening day 3-1 win against Barnsley, has been a thorn in Wanderers' side in the past but who plays alongside the former Grimsby, Sheff Utd and Rotherham hit-man has been the subject of some conjecture this week. Steve Jones partnered Mendonca at Fulham and in a behind-closed-doors friendly against Millwall last week but there has been a suggestion that Andy Hunt, who played in the first two games, will return. Clean sheet

Before the Craven Cottage defeat (a couple of postponements and exemption from the 1st round of the Worthington Cup means they have played only three games) the Adddicks had looked pretty solid at the back; hardly surprising with a centre-back partnership of the highly-rated Richard Rufus and the experienced Eddie Youds.

But former Bury keeper Dean Kiely has managed only the one clean sheet, against a poor Norwich attack, and that should be all the encouragement Wanderers need to get at them. There could also be a change at right back with Steve Brown struggling with a knee problem and Greg Shields, a £580,000 signing from Dunfermline, waiting to step in.

Wanderers could come up against a couple of 'familiar' faces at The Valley.

John Salako, who was at the Reebok on a short-term contract at the end of the 1997-98 season and is currently on loan from Fulham, could make the bench alongside Martin Pringle, the Swedish striker who was strongly tipped for a move to the Reebok before he joined Charlton from Benfica last season.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.