ALAN PARDEW urged striker Luke Varney to show greater belief in himself and become a major player in Charlton's push for promotion.

After watching the 25-year-old destroy local rivals Crystal Palace with a two-goal salvo in Friday’s 2-0 derby win, the manager said: “He missed a big chance in the 1-0 defeat at Scunthorpe a week ago but responded with two against Palace.

“He’s done well and works so hard for the rest of the team, which you could see by the reaction of the rest of the players to his goals.

“If he believed in himself a bit more, he could be a terrific player. His problem is that he doubts himself because he’s such an honest lad.

“That’s why I’m so pleased for him. The senior players in the squad are looking after him and we’re starting to see the fruits of him settling.”

Pardew added: “I think sometimes people forget that he suffered a bad injury during pre-season and not so long ago was playing semi-professional football.

“It’s been a big jump for him after learning his craft under Dario Gradi at Crewe.

“He works both flanks well and you saw that especially in the second half when he was on the left.”

An elated but exhausted Varney said: “I’m so delighted to score twice in a derby. The atmosphere inside the ground was fantastic and I believe the players responded to that.

“When I walked out of the tunnel and heard the noise, it was deafening. It made me realise just how important a win was to the Charlton fans.

“I think the atmosphere helped raise our game by another 10 per cent. The manager told me to go out and enjoy myself and I felt I had the freedom I enjoyed last season.”

The manager threw down the gauntlet to his players when he said: “The team is good enough for promotion, because it has the quality. But is it consistent enough ?

“We’ve beaten two of the top teams in Stoke and Palace, now we have Watford coming here on Saturday. With three of the next four at home it’s in our hands.”