Michael Appleton: Charlton Athletic appoint former Oxford and Lincoln boss as head coach

Michael Appleton had been out of work since leaving Blackpool, then in the Championship, in January

League One club Charlton Athletic have appointed former Blackpool boss Michael Appleton as their new head coach.

He replaces Dean Holden, who was sacked on 27 August after the Addicks lost four of their first five league games at the start of the season.

The 47-year-old, who has also had stints managing Oxford United and Lincoln City among others, has agreed a two-year contract at The Valley.

Appleton becomes Charlton's fifth different boss in two and a half years.

The south-east London club are 16th in the table, six points off the play-offs and four points above the relegation zone, after six games of the campaign.

His first match in charge will be at Stevenage on Saturday, 16 September.

Charlton's technical director Andy Scott said Appleton has a "winning mentality" and is a coach "who knows what it takes to get a team promoted".

"Michael demonstrated very clearly that he would have the ability to take the current group and mould them into a successful team," Scott told the club website.

"He has worked at the very top level so he understands what high standards are required to win.

"He has had many positive and negative experiences as a manager that have shaped him into the coach that we believe will be the best person for the job.

Appleton had been out of work since being sacked by Blackpool, then in the Championship, in January, having won seven of his 29 games during what was his second spell in charge of the Tangerines.

Jason Pearce had been in charge of Charlton on an interim basis following Holden's departure, overseeing a 2-1 win over Fleetwood and a defeat at Crawley Town in the EFL Trophy.

Appleton looks to build 'winning mentality'

Charlton were taken over by SE7 Partners, a company headed by former Sunderland director Charlie Methven, in July and Appleton said he will "give everything to deliver success" for the club.

"I want us to develop a team that excites us all, that never gives up and that plays on the front foot," he added.

"I want my players to express themselves and feel comfortable in the way we aim to play. We want to build a winning mentality, starting immediately."

After a year with Portsmouth and spells with Blackpool and Blackburn Rovers, Appleton led Oxford United to automatic promotion from League Two in 2015-16, and then guided them to an eighth-placed finish in the third tier the following season.

He left Oxford in June 2017 to become Craig Shakespeare's assistant at Premier League Leicester City, and had a brief caretaker stint in charge of the Foxes in October 2017, winning both games.

Appleton then joined Lincoln City in September 2019, with the Imps losing 2-1 to Blackpool in the League One play-off final in 2020-21.

Charlton have spent six of the past seven seasons in League One, with their most recent campaign in the Championship coming when they finished 22nd in the table in 2019-20.