WERE Jose Riga under any illusions as to the size of the task facing him in his second spell as Charlton head coach, they will have been quickly dispelled.
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| Jose Riga initially departed Charlton back in 2014 |
Riga returned to The Valley last week following the sacking of interim coach Karel Fraeye after just two and a half months to inherit a team second bottom in the Championship following 10 league games without a win and 11 goals now conceded in two matches.
The south-east London club was once held up as a model for smaller clubs but they are now riven by division with Belgian businessman Roland Duchatelet the object of fury from supporters who have questioned his motives since his arrival in January 2014.
He has admitted to mistakes over player recruitment as well as taking responsibility for the Addicks' woeful season but that has done little to appease the fans.
After losing 5-0 at Huddersfield on Tuesday, now it was 6-0 here to a Hull side determined to make an instant return to the Premier League.
At the KC Stadium there were cries of "we want our club back", "we want Roland out" and "we are not customers" - a reference to chief executive Katrien Meire comparing the fans to customers at a restaurant.
Next week protests are set for The Valley before and after their game against Blackburn, immediately putting the pressure on Riga, who first spent two months with the Addicks from March 2014 when he guided them from bottom to 18th.
The 58-year-old Belgian has never experienced relegation before and claims he has no intention of starting now, identifying the need to work on fitness, tactics, technical skills and confidence - with immediate effect. Riga also intends to make full use of the transfer window.
"For the few months I was there and the months I was in England, I appreciated a lot the competition, the club, the people, everything," he said. "I was really feeling good and in a short time committed with the club of Charlton.
"How? It is difficult to say. The people working for the club, the players, of course it is easy to say when you succeed in what you are doing. If I said yes a few days ago it is because I think I can do it again.
"It is not because you write the story in the way that you are able to repeat the story, I just believe that maybe in another way I can still do it this time."
It is in stark contrast to Hull, who moved to within two points of leaders Middlesbrough in second as Abel Hernandez scored a hat-trick in
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