South London Press are reporting that Charlton Athletic are set to replace interim head coach Karel Fraeye with former manager Jose Riga. There are strong rumours suggesting that this will be done before the Addicks play versus Huddersfield Town on Tuesday.
Fraeye has come under huge pressure after an alarming run of results, most recently when beating knocked out of the FA Cup to League One strugglers Colchester United yesterday. That extended their winless run to nine matches and they remain in the Championship relegation places. With supporters already unhappy with the running of the club, on-the-field matters haven’t been providing any degree of comfort.
Owner Roland Duchatelet has a history with Riga prior to his appointment at Charlton in March 2014 following the sacking of Chris Powell. The Belgian appointed Riga as Standard Liege manager in February 2015, but decided to leave at the end of that season. He also elected to leave The Valley and join Blackpool in the summer of 2014. He would only last four months in the job at Bloomfield Road.
58-year-old Riga most recently was manager of French Ligue 2 side Metz, but was sacked in December. He looks set to become the fifth managerial appointment of the Duchatelet era at Charlton Athletic. Riga did work alongside Fraeye during his previous spell with the Championship side, but is now set to replace him in the managerial hot-seat. It is a troubling time for Charlton and they’ll be hoping this change of manager brings them a change in fortunes.
