Olly Groome reports
Charlton Athletic are delighted to welcome Richie Barker to the club.
Barker joins Karl Robinson's backroom staff and was in the dugout for Wednesday’s game against Millwall.
The 41-year old previously worked alongside the new Addicks boss at Milton Keynes Dons, joining the Buckinghamshire side in 2014, before helping them to promotion to the second tier in 2015.
Robinson said: “Richie is someone that I’ve had a promotion with, someone who has developed players alongside me and he knows who I am, so it gives that bit of solidarity to what I’m trying to do here.
“I came in on my own, which is a bit different, because I believe we have the support staff here to be successful but once Richie became available over the last 24 hours, I wanted to act to get him here.
“He’s a football person, he knows the league and has worked with a few of our players before. He jumped at the opportunity to join us.”
A striker in his playing days, Barker represented the likes of Brighton & Hove Albion, Macclesfield Town, Rotherham United and Hartlepool United, before beginning his coaching career with Sheffield Wednesday’s academy.
He was named as Bury’s youth team boss in 2010 and took caretaker charge at Gigg Lane in 2011, leading the club to promotion and earning the job on a permanent basis.
In August 2012, he took charge of Crawley Town, but departed three months later to take the hot seat at Portsmouth. Having left Fratton Park in March 2014, he was brought to Stadium MK by Robinson and the two now reunite at The Valley, with Barker taking his place in Charlton’s dugout for the first time at Milwall on Wednesday night.
Meanwhile, Robinson has also extended the stay of Chris O'Loughlin, who will work as First-Team Coach until the end of the season.