MANAGER Alan Pardew has attempted to lessen the fear of relegation ahead of Charlton's must-win match tonight against Tottenham at The Valley.

Defeat will consign the Addicks to relegation after seven seasons in the Barclays Premier League, though Pardew insists he is not accepting relegation yet. If they take three points off Tottenham this evening, they will go to Champions League finalists Liverpool on Sunday needing another win.

"I think relegation is something we get carried away with," he said. "It's very important, but it is not the be all and end all.

"Certainly it's not the end of the world if we do go down. We will be strong and we will bounce back. But the priority is staying up this season."

He added: "In some ways it can be a blessing because you can re-address issues within the club.

"I have spoken with my assistant manager Phil Parkinson and the scouting team about what players are available to us if we don't make it because there is no point in getting to the end of the season and just saying that we were desperate to stay up when you've just been relegated. I can't see any logic in that."

Pardew is resigned to losing his best players, including leading scorer Darren Bent, should the club be relegated.

"If there's one thing I know about the Championship it's that you need a great spirit in the squad to get back up. Sunderland and Birmingham are prime examples of that.

"You should not allow yourselves to fear relegation. Whenever a Premier League club is relegated, the people who really suffer are those who work at the stadium because there is always a huge cull of staff.

"So you have to bounce back quickly so you can re-employ them. That was my first focus when West Ham went down."