I’m trying to find a system that suits the squad we have – Charlton boss Ben Garner

Charlton boss Ben Garner admits he is trying to find a formation that suits the players at his disposal – but without coming away from his playing philosophy.

The Addicks were drilled in a 4-3-3 at the start of the season but Garner has tinkered with a 3-5-2 and 3-4-3 recently – before settling on 4-4-2 at Lincoln on Saturday.

The former Swindon manager was brought into the club by Thomas Sandgaard in order to bring an attacking, possession-based brand of football to The Valley.

The South Londoners are now winless in eight and are two points above the drop zone.

“It’s just trying to find a system that suits the players that we’ve got,” said Garner, when asked if the change in shape signals a shift away from his playing style.

“We wanted to play a certain way and a certain system. We probably needed one or two more players to really commit to that and do that. We’re trying to find a way to suit the group that we’ve got. Suit the players, but we’re not going away from how we play.

“We passed the ball well [during the goalless draw at Lincoln]. We worked it through the pitch into good areas. We just need to create a little bit more and be a bit more positive in terms of taking opportunities and taking shots at goal.

“It’s about results. We could have won five out of the last eight, easily. It just hasn’t gone for us. We can’t be disappointed. We can’t get down about it. we just have to front up. We have to prepare for the next game.

“We have to ignore the noise in this job. As players and in my role as manager we have to block out the surrounding noise and focus on what we can control and affect.”

PHOTO: KYLE ANDREWS