Hitman aiming for the high life

14 April 2012

Of all the Charlton players merrily punching above their weight as they continue to thrive in the Premiership, Hermann Hreidarsson is enjoying himself more than most.

The Iceland international has suffered the despair of relegation from the top flight with Ipswich, Wimbledon and Crystal Palace, so is delighted to be discovering how the other half live.

Just don't call him cursed. Hreidarsson positively bristles at the suggestion he was the source of his previous employers' misfortune, threatening to demonstrate why he is universally known as The Hitman. He has a penchant for play-fighting and pretending to beat up team-mates but, looking up at the 6ft 1in defender, it seems unwise to take the risk.

He said: "I've not always been in struggling teams. The first year I was at Ipswich we finished fifth in the Premiership and it's just a shame we couldn't sustain it. Wimbledon was harder work and it's a lot more fun when you're doing well.

"At Charlton we're on a high but have to be consistent. I'm used to relegation battles but this is better. We're capable of staying in the top 10. If we maintain our form of the last few games, we should be able to do that."

Hreidarsson is a single-minded and passionate man who has always spoken his mind. Such was his determination to play for Iceland in last month's Euro 2004 qualifier against Germany that he defied the orders of Charlton manager Alan Curbishley by meeting up with the national squad while injured.

The 29-year-old had not trained for a month but, with Iceland needing a win to qualify for a major tournament for the first time, he declared himself fit to play. They lost 3-0 but Hreidarsson is unrepentant.

He said: "I was desperate to play and I think it benefited Charlton. It was touch and go whether I was going to play. I understood the manager because I'd hardly trained before I went away, but it was a massive game for Iceland.

"I played for 90 minutes and came back ready to play in the Premier League."

Despite disobeying managerial orders, Hreidarsson is a firm favourite of Curbishley's. Several eyebrows were raised when the Charlton boss chose to sign another defender towards the end of last season but he has proved an invaluable addition to the squad, particularly given injuries to Gary Rowett, Richard Rufus and Luke Young. Hreidarsson is comfortable on the ball for a big man and his height brings an added threat at set-pieces, as demonstrated by his winning goal at Blackburn last month.

Charlton now have a dearth of strikers in addition to their longstanding problems at the back, though Kevin Lisbie could return for tonight's trip to Birmingham.

Paolo Di Canio (hamstring) and Shaun Bartlett (knee) remain out and Jonatan Johansson is expected to partner Jason Euell up front. Curbishley said: "When you start the season with five centrehalves and seven strikers, you don't expect that you'll have to take a defender on loan as I did with Chris Perry and still be struggling up front.

"Everyone complains about injuries but I went to Everton on Wednesday with seven players out. It's been that way all season.

"A few weeks ago the front two was Lisbie and Bartlett, then it was Di Canio and Johansson, now it's Euell and Johansson. We've got these injuries but it presents opportunities for other people." Birmingham have kept eight clean sheets in eight of their 10 Premiership matches, and Hreidarsson is expecting a close game.

He said: "Birmingham can be proud of themselves. It'll be hard work to score against them but we've created chances in the last few games and have to take them. They're difficult to break down and work hard, but we do as well. We try to win every game but a point away is never a bad thing."

Birmingham v Charlton, St Andrew's, tonight, 8pm (Live on Sky Sports 1)

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