Pardew was expected to lead Charlton to promotion (Getty)

Charlton manager Alan Pardew has admitted his disappointment at missing out on an immediate return to the Premier League.

The pre-season favourites' promotion dream ended on Saturday, with the club having won just 16 league games.

Pardew told BBC London 94.9: "It hurts, some of the performances have not been of the standard that I would expect.

"We are going to have to recruit well in the summer. We must be stronger that that next year."

Pardew wants to get straight down to planning for next season: "I think I know where the issues lie in the team and we're going to have to address them. At least we've got some planning time and we can steal a march on teams in the play-offs.

We cannot afford to be in the Championship too long. Your third or fourth year in this division becomes very difficult Charlton boss Alan Pardew

"We can try and establish ourselves, recruiting the best possible players for the budget we have. We cannot afford to be in the Championship too long. The likes of Leicester and Coventry down near the bottom will bear that out.

"Your third or fourth year in this division becomes very difficult."

Pardew also hinted that loan striker Leroy Lita would return to Reading now that there is no hope of a top-six finish. He also revealed that youngsters like Scott Wagstaff might get an opportunity in the final two games.