Alan Curbishley has given Charlton fans only lukewarm encouragement that he might return to The Valley as Alan Pardew's successor.

Pardew was shown the door following the 5-2 thrashing at home to Sheffield United.

Curbishley is seen by many as the man to take them out of the Championship drop zone but the former Addicks manager, who left West Ham in September, hinted that caretaker Phil Parkinson would remain in the post.

He said: "I am sure I will be linked with the job but we will have to wait and see. Phil Parkinson has been given the caretaker role so it may be he gets his chance on a permanent basis.

"I was at Charlton for a long time and I said when I left it was the right time for me to go, but if I did look to come back it would be in the Premier League."

One caretaker already enjoying success is Malky Mackay, who lifted WATFORD above Charlton thanks to a 3-0 win over QUEENS PARK RANGERS.

Midfielder Lee Williamson, who scored the third, made it clear he wanted the Scot to succeed Aidy Boothroyd, although Chelsea reserve team boss Brendan Rodgers remains the favourite and could be appointed within the next 24 hours.

He said: "The lads all hope Malky gets the job. Hopefully we've given him a lift with this performance."

The result ruined Paulo Sousa's debut as Rangers boss.

CRYSTAL PALACE moved up the table with a 4-2 Selhurst Park thumping of Bristol City, who also suffered the indignity of having their team bus broken into and ransacked on Friday night.

Palace boss Neil Warnock said: "I thought we were unfortunate not to get a couple more but you get greedy. Four is good for us."

In League One, the goalless draw LEYTON ORIENT shared with MILLWALL represented a small step forward for both clubs.

The Lions moved level on points with Scunthorpe, who dropped to third behind new leaders Leicester and MK Dons, who both won away, while Orient are now two points ahead of fourth-from-bottom Colchester.

Karleigh Osborne's last-minute equaliser kept BRENTFORD on course for the League Two play-offs and knocked Darlington off top spot.

DAGENHAM & REDBRIDGE moved back up the table after a magnificent 6-1 thrashing of Notts County but BARNET went down 3-1 at home to Macclesfield.