Charlton owner Thomas Sandgaard says he believes a top-six finish should be the “worst case” scenario for the club under a new manager next season.
Sandgaard yesterday sacked Johnnie Jackson after six months in charge, telling Standard Sport the team's style of play was a factor in his decision.
Jackson guided the Addicks to 13th after succeeding Nigel Adkins on an initial caretaker basis in October, with Sandgaard saying he was convinced a more high-pressing style would give the club a better chance of promotion from League One.
Asked what the target would be for the new manager, Sandgaard said: “We're implementing a number of changes.
“Our sports scientists and physios are coming up with a plan to increase the intensity in training. We'll spend more time on the training ground - at the moment we have sometimes several days a week off for the players - all in preparation for seriously getting promoted, so it's not a big jump for us.
“We're literally improving on so many things throughout the club, including a new building [at the training ground] for the players that's much better than what they had before. That's ready in a couple of weeks. And we'll try to get a pre-season that makes us show up in better shape and less prone to injuries than before.
“So all these little things should mean we have a higher probability of finishing in the top two and, worst case, top six than we had this season.
“You can't guarantee the actual position but keep improving what you do and keep making improvements which are better than the other clubs."
Explaining Jackson's dismissal, Sandgaard said: “I obviously did not interfere with team selections for the games but I'm very convinced that more pressing high up on the pitch would give us a higher probability of getting promoted.
“It started off really well, we played Sunderland in Johnnie's first game as caretaker and won at the Stadium of Light with an amazing high-press effort. I was hoping we were going to see more of that throughout the season. But now we're looking forward, we'll be making several changes.”
