THE new Premiership season kicks-off on Saturday and the News Shop- per will again be following Charlton in their third successive season in the top flight.

From match reports to interviews with manager Alan Curbishley and the first-team squad, to exclusive Addicks competitions, we'll be keeping readers up-to-date with the latest news.

Alan Curbishley has set his sights on a top-10 finish but admits he has other priorities.

Chelsea are the visitors to The Valley on Saturday and although Curbishley believes his squad is stronger than ever bad news for Chelsea considering Charlton have won the last four games between the two sides staying in the top flight is paramount.

"We finished ninth two season ago, and with one or two more results we could have been in the same position last time, despite all the problems we had," said Curbishley.

"I think we can equal that, or even do better. I'm looking for a top-ten finish, but we can't lose sight of the fact that avoiding relegation is all-important.

"That's not being negative, it's simply realistic. As so many other clubs have discovered, relegation from the Premiership brings all kinds of problems, especially given the current financial state of football. My job is to ensure we don't have those kinds of problems at Charlton."

A late Jonatan Johansson goal saw Charlton retain their unbeaten record in friendlies with a 2-2 draw against Portuguese side Porto at The

Valley last Saturday.

But after a disastrous pre-season campaign last season, the Addicks boss insists his lack of any problems on the injury front has been the most satisfying part of the club's preparations.

He said: "This time last season I barely knew where to turn and had to play players in unfamiliar positions to field a side. Fortunately, we've avoided that so far and that has to give me confidence. We took Scott Parker off with a slight knock against Porto, but that was just a precaution.

"Chris Bart-Williams needed a game after a recent illness, while Mark Fish and Shaun Bartlett are a couple of weeks away from full fitness."

Curbishley added: "With the introduction of transfer windows, I've had to make sure we can cope with any eventuality, and we may even make another signing before the end of the month. We've got players striving hard to be in the team all over the park and that's great news for a manager going into a new season.

"We may not be able to push up into that bunch of massive clubs with hugely expensive squads who are dominating football at the moment, but there's no reason what we can't finish top of the rest."

l Tickets for Chelsea's game are on sale to Valley Gold members, all CAPS members, season-ticket holders and last year's season-ticket holders on supply of their membership number at £30 adults; £25 senior/U18s and £20 juniors.