ALAN Pardew is returning to the formula he used at West Ham in a bid to bring Charlton back to the Premiership.

Pardew oversaw a successful promotion campaign within two years of taking the reigns at Upton Park in 2003, and believes his policy of replacing established top flight stars with a group of young and hungry players represents the best route back for the Addicks.

A busy summer of dealing at The Valley has seen the likes of Darren Bent, Talal el Karkouri and Thomas Myhre replaced with Luke Varney, Patrick McCarthy and Nicky Weaver.

Pardew said: "My priority has been to freshen up the squad, and I’m using the experience I gained at West Ham. Back then I inherited a stale squad, which needed a new focus.

"It’s the same here. I’m trying to build a young team. We’ve got to drive home that we are now a Championship side, not a Premiership one, and that’s one of the reasons why I’ve brought players in this summer."

He added: "It’s also about making wise investments. I did that at Reading with the likes of Nicky Shorey, Steve Sidwell and James Harper, and at West Ham with Nigel Reo-Coker, Marlon Harewood and Anton Ferdinand. Hopefully I can do that here."

In all, Charlton have made eight new signings since relegation, but Pardew hopes to further bolster his squad before the start of the season.

He said: "Numbers-wise, we are very healthy, but I still want to bring in a couple of players who will affect the first team."

Former Chelsea midfielder Jody Morris is currently having a trial with the club, while Pardew stressed that he wants Jerome Thomas to stay. The former Arsenal winger has been linked with a move to Manchester City.