Portsmouth outclassed during 3-1 defeat claims new Charlton boss Dean Holden

And the new Addicks boss believed his men were ‘excellent’ as they ran rampant on a soggy south coast.

The south London outfit dominated proceedings at Fratton Park with goals from Jesurun Rak-Sakyi, Scott Fraser and an Owen Dale own goal sealing the three points.

Both sides went in to the contest without a win in their previous eight games and were equally the two most out-of-form teams in League One.

And that was reflective on the pitch, with Holden claiming his side had to put in a strong fight to take victory at PO4.

But the Charlton head coach is adamant his men were too hot to handle for Pompey as they heaped the pressure on Danny Cowley.

He told The South London Press: ‘It was needed, it really was. The players were made well aware of that going into his game.

‘Without the ball we were excellent. We were compact. We regained the ball in the first half, double figures I would say. Scored a brilliant goal through Jes Rak-Sakyi. That’s as good a goal as you’ll see. And Scotty Fraser, two brilliant goals.

‘To concede when we did was really disappointing. But I said at the same time it probably allowed us to reset.

‘We had to come out and scrap and fight, to earn the right. But that allowed us to play our game. We passed the ball so much better today.

‘We needed to show some belief and get back to the team we could be. We had really control with the ball at our feet.’

Holden took over in the dugout at The Valley in December with his men sitting cautiously above the dropzone.

But with the victory seeing his men climb up to 16th in the table, the Addicks boss is confident this can change his outfit’s fortunes after a below-par start to the season.

He added: ‘It gives everybody real confidence and belief. And momentum for our supporters. They’ve needed to see that, irrespective of the result.

‘The result is most important in regards to the league but the fans driving down here today needed to see that kind of performance.’