'I was the cheap option. I got told I had the job until end of the season...it ended up being nine years'

Lennie Lawrence on how testing start to managerial life at Charlton Athletic set him up to face any challenge and selling prize assets to help fund club's fight to get back to The Valley

Lennie Lawrence is closing in on 50 years in football management - either as a boss, assistant or advisory role. And he is the first to admit that his managerial baptism of fire at Charlton Athletic helped him cope with any issues he faced.

Lawrence, now 77, works in a non-executive consultancy role at Hartlepool United. He has managed more than 1,000 matches - putting him in exalted company alongside the likes of Sir Alex Ferguson, Sir Bobby Robson and Brian Clough.

But his success with the Addicks is still firmly imprinted in his mind.

When he returns my call, asking about the possibility of an interview, Lawrence points out that the end of this season will mark the 40th anniversary of him leading Charlton Athletic into the top flight, then called the First Division.

What makes that achievement more remarkable is that the south Londoners were not even playing at The Valley when they celebrated promotion. On September 7, 1985 fans arrived at the ground for a fixture against Crystal Palace to be told that the club would be moving to Selhurst Park.

Picture: Tom Morris

Lawrence’s tenure saw him managing against the backdrop of financial uncertainty which threatened to put Charlton out of existence.

“When it was going under in 1984 we were going to games and staying at hotels - the bills never got paid,” Lawrence told South London Sport: Charlton Athletic Edition. “I can remember signing a player, registering him and we didn’t have the money. The league was on our case.