After last weekend's defeat at Sheffield Wednesday, Mark Kinsella wants to see an immediate reaction when Charlton's players take to the field on Saturday (3pm) to play Sheffield United in the fourth round of the FA Cup.
The Addicks went into the game at Hillsborough in good spirits after finally ending their winless run with a 1-0 victory at Norwich City in their FA Cup third-round replay just days earlier.
But Charlton came crashing back down to earth against the Owls as they were thumped 4-1 to slip eight points adrift of safety at the foot of the Championship.
The Addicks return to Sheffield this weekend, however, and can go some way to redeeming themselves with a victory against United at Bramall Lane.
And coach Kinsella told the official website: "The performance wasn't good enough at Wednesday. The players were very quiet on Monday and Tuesday, they knew they'd put in a poor performance and there was no hiding away from it.
"We'd given ourselves a bit of hope so it was disappointing, especially for the fans who had travelled up. It wasn't acceptable; it hurt Phil Parkinson, the coaching staff and the players, but we've sorted it out and they're a lot livelier ahead of Saturday."
With Addicks boss Parkinson discussing potential transfer dealings with chief executive Steve Waggott, Kinsella held court in the club's weekly meeting with the nation's press at Sparrows Lane on Thursday afternoon.
And the former Charlton midfielder admitted he expected to see a few arrivals and departures in SE7 before the January transfer window closes.
"The gaffer is talking to the chief executive now, so hopefully one or two things will happen in the next couple of days," said Kinsella. "With the situation we're in, we need to strengthen the squad, and if there are players available out there better than what we've got, we need to try to get them in."
Two trialists, in the shape of former Aston Villa defender Ulises de la Cruz and ex-Walsall winger Ishmel Demontagnac, featured as the reserves lost 4-0 to Reading on Monday night, but Kinsella was unsure whether the duo would be making permanent moves to The Valley.
Kinsella did, though, confirm that the Addicks would not be extending Martyn Waghorn's loan from Sunderland for a third month, with the striker having now returned to the Stadium of Light.
"Ulises played for the reserves on Monday night, while I know Ishmel from Walsall; he has played a couple of games for the reserves now and got better and fitter as the weeks have gone on," said Mark. "He's done reasonably well and we'll make a decision on him soon.
"Martyn's loan was up last week so he's gone back as he had an injury before the Sheffield Wednesday game."
Several youngsters were thrown into the fray when Charlton played Norwich, and Kinsella revealed a similar scenario may take place at Bramall Lane with Tom Soares, Matthew Spring and Graeme Murty all unavailable for selection.
"The opportunity came up for the kids to be thrown in at Norwich, as we knew it would be more of a footballing game," said Kinsella.
"It wasn't a gamble, we know how good the kids are and they delivered. Sheffield United away is a more physical encounter, though, and they're one of the top teams in the division, so we'll make a decision on our starting XI on Friday."
United are a team Charlton know well, having played the Blades twice already in the league this season, with the Yorkshire side triumphing on both occasions.
But with the pressures of the league off their shoulders, Kinsella believes the Addicks have nothing to lose on Saturday as they look to take a win into the derby with Crystal Palace at The Valley which follows hot on the heels of the fixture against United.
"The FA Cup is one of the biggest competitions in the world, and we're still in it," Kinsella mused. "We want to get to the fifth round - it's not a game we just want to get out of the way. We're looking at it as another game that we need to win. Confidence comes from winning and we need to get that winning mentality.
"It will be like a Championship game and we're confident we can go there and put a performance in. We can go there and get a result. They're beatable and we want to get in the draw for the fifth round of the cup."
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After last weekend's defeat at Sheffield Wednesday, Mark Kinsella wants to see an immediate reaction when Charlton's players take to the field on Saturday (3pm) to play Sheffield United in the fourth round of the FA Cup.
The Addicks went into the game at Hillsborough in good spirits after finally ending their winless run with a 1-0 victory at Norwich City in their FA Cup third-round replay just days earlier.
But Charlton came crashing back down to earth against the Owls as they were thumped 4-1 to slip eight points adrift of safety at the foot of the Championship.
The Addicks return to Sheffield this weekend, however, and can go some way to redeeming themselves with a victory against United at Bramall Lane.
And coach Kinsella told the official website: "The performance wasn't good enough at Wednesday. The players were very quiet on Monday and Tuesday, they knew they'd put in a poor performance and there was no hiding away from it.
"We'd given ourselves a bit of hope so it was disappointing, especially for the fans who had travelled up. It wasn't acceptable; it hurt Phil Parkinson, the coaching staff and the players, but we've sorted it out and they're a lot livelier ahead of Saturday."
With Addicks boss Parkinson discussing potential transfer dealings with chief executive Steve Waggott, Kinsella held court in the club's weekly meeting with the nation's press at Sparrows Lane on Thursday afternoon.
And the former Charlton midfielder admitted he expected to see a few arrivals and departures in SE7 before the January transfer window closes.
"The gaffer is talking to the chief executive now, so hopefully one or two things will happen in the next couple of days," said Kinsella. "With the situation we're in, we need to strengthen the squad, and if there are players available out there better than what we've got, we need to try to get them in."
Two trialists, in the shape of former Aston Villa defender Ulises de la Cruz and ex-Walsall winger Ishmel Demontagnac, featured as the reserves lost 4-0 to Reading on Monday night, but Kinsella was unsure whether the duo would be making permanent moves to The Valley.
Kinsella did, though, confirm that the Addicks would not be extending Martyn Waghorn's loan from Sunderland for a third month, with the striker having now returned to the Stadium of Light.
"Ulises played for the reserves on Monday night, while I know Ishmel from Walsall; he has played a couple of games for the reserves now and got better and fitter as the weeks have gone on," said Mark. "He's done reasonably well and we'll make a decision on him soon.
"Martyn's loan was up last week so he's gone back as he had an injury before the Sheffield Wednesday game."
Several youngsters were thrown into the fray when Charlton played Norwich, and Kinsella revealed a similar scenario may take place at Bramall Lane with Tom Soares, Matthew Spring and Graeme Murty all unavailable for selection.
"The opportunity came up for the kids to be thrown in at Norwich, as we knew it would be more of a footballing game," said Kinsella.
"It wasn't a gamble, we know how good the kids are and they delivered. Sheffield United away is a more physical encounter, though, and they're one of the top teams in the division, so we'll make a decision on our starting XI on Friday."
United are a team Charlton know well, having played the Blades twice already in the league this season, with the Yorkshire side triumphing on both occasions.
But with the pressures of the league off their shoulders, Kinsella believes the Addicks have nothing to lose on Saturday as they look to take a win into the derby with Crystal Palace at The Valley which follows hot on the heels of the fixture against United.
"The FA Cup is one of the biggest competitions in the world, and we're still in it," Kinsella mused. "We want to get to the fifth round - it's not a game we just want to get out of the way. We're looking at it as another game that we need to win. Confidence comes from winning and we need to get that winning mentality.
"It will be like a Championship game and we're confident we can go there and put a performance in. We can go there and get a result. They're beatable and we want to get in the draw for the fifth round of the cup."