Michael Appleton in no mood to write off Charlton’s play-off dreams despite Boxing Day defeat at Orient

Charlton Athletic head coach Michael Appleton was not ready to concede that their League One play-off hopes in the immediate aftermath of their Boxing Day by Leyton Orient.

The Addicks ended that round of fixtures 14 points behind sixth-placed Stevenage but with two matches in hand.

Appleton was asked about Charlton’s top-six prospects immediately after the 1-0 reverse in east London, at which point the gap was 11.

Asked if he still believed there was a good chance of making up the gap, Appleton said: “I do think there is. There have been some decent examples in recent times of teams coming from that mid-table position and having a good run of it.

“One of the most recent ones was the Blackpool team which beat Lincoln in the play-off final – they were 16th on New Year’s Day. It does happen and it can happen.

“If you get lucky in the January window and keep one or two clean sheets – certainly more than we’ve kept so far – then there is definitely still a possibility.”

A number of the bookmakers have Charlton as 66/1 for promotion after their seventh league reverse of the campaign.

The Addicks have collected seven points from their last six matches – way off the return needed to be in the shake-up at the end of the season.

Charlton head to 10th-placed Bristol Rovers on Friday night before hosting Oxford United on New Year’s Day.