Roeder is left full of Christmas cheer

It was, said Glenn Roeder, the perfect day. And while the quality of the football may not have been up there with the previous home game - against Ipswich - the outcome was just the same.

A David Marshall save, a sublime Sammy Clingan pass and a matching finish from Leroy Lita put three deserved points in the bag. And that's what counts when you're in danger of being sucked into the relegation zone.

"Very pleased I have to say," said Roeder. "I know 1-0 can be a little bit hairy at times in the last five or 10 minutes, but when I played that was always the perfect result - you score at the other end and as a defender you keep a clean sheet - perfect day.

"It would have been nice for our supporters to see a couple more goals but I think generally speaking they have all gone home very, very happy and they should do. It was nice to play well.

"I have to say possibly we played even better in the two away games after Ipswich when we got nothing, but overall I was pleased with the performance and it was nice to win a game that we deserved to win overall.

"Charlton were stubborn - there are no easy games nowadays in football, they've got pride, they don't want to come here and lay down and get rolled over.

"They had a good game plan, two solid central defenders and they made it difficult for us. But the bottom line is we got what we deserved in the end, which was three points."

It might have been different had Marshall not kept out Mark Hudson's first-half effort with a save that rivalled the goal for moment-of-the-match.

"For the goal there was a supreme pass by Sammy Clingan, who was Mr Consistent once again today, and the movement that Leroy Lita showed to come out of the eyesight of the central defender and pull off on his shoulder was great play," said Roeder.

"It was great striker's play, it was great control and he did what he had to do - he kept the shot low and the keeper had no chance.

"But I've got to give a word as well to an absolute wonder-save from Marshall in the first half. I was right behind the shot and it moved all over the place in the air and I must admit as it left the player's boot I thought 'that's in off the bar or straight in'.

"But then Marsh has somehow read the flight and pulled off a save right out of the top drawer.

"I said to them at half-time - that's as important to us as one of our players scoring at the other end in terms of how the game was poised at the time."

Roeder was forced into a change just before kick-off when Ryan Bertrand was pulled out because of a toe injury, with Adam Drury coming in at left- back.

It was a change that needed permission from Charlton's caretaker-manager Phil Parkinson - who earned praise from Roeder for not objecting.

"Ryan has had a problem since Nottingham Forest where (Rob) Earnshaw stamped on his big toe," said Roeder, who revealed that Bertrand, Elliott Omozusi and Matty Pattison had all missed training last week before a work-out on Friday.

"It bled badly and where the blood then congealed the toe has become very big and very sore. We tried to freeze it in the warm-up to see if he could handle playing in the game, but it was much too sore.

"Thankfully we had Adam on the bench who stepped in and did very well. Parkinson wasn't anti us then putting Arturo (Lupoli) on to the bench, which is a decent gesture. If he had said no we wouldn't have been able to do anything, so fair play to Parkinson.

"Obviously he wants the job and I think he could do a good job if he was given the opportunity. He did very well at Colchester United and he's a young manager. He's a good guy."

Meanwhile, Roeder (right) will give Carl Cort, who had another 25 minutes or so on Saturday, at least the first hour of a behind-closed-doors friendly against Colchester at City's Colney training ground today.

"Yesterday in training was the best he's trained in terms of football," Roeder said. "He looked like he'd come into himself again. He has been to hell and back. If you knew him he has real mental toughness, mental strength, and that's obviously what's pulled him through and I was delighted to get him on the pitch again today and he actually showed when you're 1-0 up if you knock a few longer balls in the air - which is not how we really want to play - he gets his head on the ball.

"There are only a couple of games before Leroy goes back, but I think Carl Cort-Leroy Lita looks very, very good in the Championship.

"Whether they get a start together in the next two games we will have to wait and see."

Charlton caretaker manager Phil Parkinson said: "We came in at half-time relatively pleased.

"We also started the second half all right but when the goal went in it really knocked us.

"We started giving the ball away too cheaply and against a good passing side like Norwich that is really asking for trouble.

The lads are an honest bunch and kept battling away but we were looking for one good moment to unlock the Norwich defence and it just didn't come."