Holland hails fans

It goes without saying that the atmosphere at The Valley on Saturday will be electric - and Addicks midfielder Matt Holland has spoken of the influence the Charlton faithful have had on the team's recent performances.

As if the crowd won't be hyped up enough, the club has arranged for an opera singer to help gee up the home fans before kick-off against local rivals West Ham United.

The Hammers clash starts the run-in of 11 remaining matches, and Holland hopes the players can repay the faith of the supporters, who have stuck with the team through a turbulent season, by winning their survival race.

"It definitely makes a difference when the fans are behind you and they could play a big part in the run-in,” said the 32-year-old who is known for his post-match applause of each of the three home stands at The Valley. "If we suffer a setback, which we will do in the 11 games we've got left, for them to still be behind you and cheering you on does make a big difference. They've got a big part to play and I have to give them credit for what they've already done this season because we haven't given them loads to cheer about.

"They've stuck with us at times when we haven't really deserved it and hopefully we can repay them in the remaining games enough to get ourselves out of trouble.”

Boss Alan Pardew has targeted six wins to maintain the Addicks' top-flight status, and Holland cited the fixtures against near rivals West Ham, Watford, Wigan Athletic and Sheffield United as the must-wins.

With that in mind, the former Republic of Ireland international refused to be drawn on the emotive nature of this weekend's clash.

The former Upton Park youngster said: "It's a massive game on Saturday and one that's going to be very tense and nervous, but at the end of the day it's three points we're playing for.

"We could be playing any other team in the league, it's just that it happens to be West Ham and Curbs.

"There's no room for sentiment, we have to beat them.”

Matt continued: "If we're going to win six games we have to beat the teams around us, and three of those four games are at home so we have to make The Valley a very difficult place to come to.

"Performances in recent weeks have been decent. We've had a tough schedule but we gave Chelsea and Manchester United a game and hopefully we can take that through to the end of the season.”

The Addicks spent last week training in Spain, during which time the manager praised Holland's commitment to the cause despite the uncertainty surrounding his future with the club; the midfielder's contract is up at the end of the season.

And, in his own words, he reiterated his desire to play for the Valley club.

"All I'm thinking about is trying to keep Charlton in the Premier League,” Holland said.

"Obviously you think about yourself but my main aim is to keep us up and I'm sure that's the same for all the other players that are out of contract.

"I'd love to stay, it's a great football club but that decision is out of my hands. You do the best you can to try and earn a new contract but I'm playing to keep Charlton in the Premier League as much as anything because I've suffered relegation before with Ipswich and it's something I don't want to experience again.

"I'm desperate to keep us in this league.”

Opera performer Martin Toal will be signing on the Valley pitch from 2.40pm on Saturday. The tenor will perform a medley of four tracks, culminating with the classic Nessun Dorma.