Phil Parkinson is aware an Easter Monday loss to Coventry will probably send Charlton down after the 0-0 draw with automatic promotion hopefuls Birmingham.
"That's the harsh reality," said manager Parkinson. "We needed to win the game, but I don't think we could have done much more to win it."
The Blues was grateful to a poor miss from Zheng Zhi, who managed to hit last defender Stephen Carr with the goal gaping, an offside flag which denied Darren Ward and a stunning late save from Maik Taylor, denying Charlton teenager Jonjo Shelvey, to preserve a point.
Charlton now look a world away from the team which lost its way so spectacularly under Alan Pardew earlier this season, but their improvement has come far too late to save them, and they are now 12 points from safety with just five games remaining.
"If we had had that team out there on the pitch earlier in the season we would be nowhere near the bottom," added Parkinson.
"This team is a good team. We've got some good players and we've gone toe-to-toe with a team looking for promotion and at times made them look very ordinary - it's disappointing because we should be talking about a very good victory."
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