Charlton 0 Middlesbrough 2: Boro's preparation was fine, says Steve Agnew

Agnew stood in after the Spaniard reportedly had a bust-up with his squad prior to their trip to South London, and his side have now won once in eight attempts.

However, Agnew claimed the turbulence before the game did not have an effect.

“The preparation before the game was fine, that is no excuse for the performance,” Agnew said. “We’ve got to move forward.

“We’ve lost the game 2-0 and didn’t perform well. We’ve just got to work towards the run-in.

“I think there is a strong mentality in the dressing room, and I think they have to keep that.

“I was disappointed with both the performance and the result, we conceded two poor goals – that’s not like us.

“To play teams that we have in Rotherham and Charlton away from home are equally as difficult as playing Hull City next week.”

The deadlock was broken after 57 minutes in favour of the home team who had started to look more threatening. Jorge Teixeira headed home from a corner by Johann Gudmundsson, his first goal for the club.

Charlton doubled their lead with 10 minutes remaining when a shot from Callum Harriott rebounded off defender Dael Fry, the forward’s persistence paying off as he pounced on the loose ball to blast home past Boro’s goalkeeper Dimi Konstantopoulos.

Charlton: Pope, Motta, Fanni, Teixeira, Fox, Gudmundsson (Lennon 90), Diarra, Cousins, Yun, Harriott (Bergdich 88), Lookman (Ghoochannejhad 78). Unused substitutes: Holmes-Dennis, Mitov, Johnson, Poyet.

Middlesbrough: Konstantopoulos, Nsue, Fry, Gibson, Friend, Clayton, Leadbitter, Adomah, Ramirez, Downing (Stuani 74), Rhodes (Nugent 74). Unused substitutes: De Laet, De Sart, Agazzi, Kalas, Forshaw.

Referee: D Deadman (Cambs).