Charlton host Bristol City on Good Friday knowing that three points could all but secure Championship safety.

After our last outing against Norwich, Nathan Jones talked about not just surviving but pushing the boundaries and improving. Yet as Easter approaches and with survival within touching distance, we approach the match with a clear and simple aim: Get over the line!

A win would take Charlton beyond the 50 point mark and, not insignificantly, put us level with Bristol City. It would also stretch the gap to the bottom three to something close to unassailable. Nine points currently separate the Addicks from danger and, with seven games to go, that may already be enough. However, 'may' is not a word anyone wants to rely on and, being Charlton, we had better make it certain before the season gets into squeaky bum time.

There is also an intriguing subplot in the away dugout. Having been recruited to steady a faltering season, 78 year old Roy Hodgson took charge of City this week after Gerhard Struber's sacking. In taking up the reins at Ashton Gate he returns to the club he managed for a disastrous four months 44 years ago and, remarkably for a man whose managerial career stretches across five decades, this will be his first encounter with Charlton. Football still finds ways to throw up the unexpected.

Late in the day, another interesting stat has emerged. Roy Hodgson will be the fourth manager to face Charlton in his first game in charge this season, following in the footsteps of Liam Rosenior at Chelsea, Chris Wilder at Sheffield United and Gary Rowett at Leicester.  Charlton, it seems, have become something of an early test for football’s newest appointments. The hope, this time, is for a Wilder outcome rather than an Rosenior one.

Given it was 44 years ago, it’s hard to use Hodgon’s last Bristol City match as a guide for how his side will set up on Friday. City have been lining up with three at the back and, although Hodgson tends to prefer a back four, he is unlikely to upset the apple cart. Scott Twine will be the danger man and it will be important not to give away any free kicks in his shooting range. Don’t expect to see many long balls being pumped forward, the visitors are 22nd in the table for accurate long balls per match. Our midfield three will have to be positionally disciplined to make sure there’s no way through.

Hodgson inherits a side that, not long ago, looked set for the play offs. That now feels distant as one win in nine games has seen them drop down to 16th. Home defeat by struggling WBA was the catalyst for sacking Struber but the team's momentum had been stalled by injuries and the unpopular January sales of their leading scorer Anis Mehmeti to Ipswich and defender Zak Vyner to Wrexham. There is plenty of unrest among the fanbase and in many ways Bristol City arrive as a team searching for direction.

Charlton, by contrast, have at least rediscovered a sense of structure. The disappointment of the recent defeat to Norwich City still lingers, particularly given the chances created. Kayne Ramsay striking the bar was one of several moments where the game could have turned. As Nathan Jones reflected afterwards, the performance contained enough to win it.

History offers encouragement against the Robins of the West Country. Charlton have often enjoyed this fixture, including a memorable 4-1 win in May 2013, when Yann Kermorgant helped cap a strong finish to the season with a couple of goals. That campaign, much like this one, saw us flirting with danger before finding a rhythm late on and surviving comfortably in the end. There is a sense that something similar could be happening again. As Nathan Jones said after the Norwich game, it's all about self-belief and pushing the boundaries. Safety is the immediate objective, but beyond that lies the question of how far this group can go. Can they turn a season of consolidation into a platform for something better in the years to come?

Good Friday offers the chance to answer that, or at least to move a step closer. Hopefully by the time Charlton kids, big and small, open their Easter eggs on Sunday we will have moved even further away from the relegation scramble.

For once maybe it's a good thing to put all of our eggs in the one basket.