The newest addition to the ranks of Barclays Premiership managers must fear this morning that his career could be cut horribly short. Les Reed, who was appointed by Charlton Athletic only five weeks ago, was ridiculed by his own supporters as Wycombe Wanderers inflicted a humiliating Carling Cup quarter-final defeat at The Valley.

Reed, 53, must be relieved that he signed a two-year contract last week. He was booed as he took his place for the second half after his side had plumbed new depths of incompetence in the first half, jeered as he threw the ball back to one of his players and serenaded towards the end with chants of “Super Alan Pardew”, a reference to the former Charlton midfield player who was dismissed as manager of West Ham United last week and who would be a leading contender to replace him.

Peter Varney, the Charlton chief executive, was adamant in a radio interview before the 1-0 defeat to the Coca-Cola League Two side that Reed would not be dismissed this season. Asked about the possibility of changing the manager early in the new year if results do not improve, Varney said: “We won’t. We are very confident this situation will turn around here.

“It was an early decision [to replace Iain Dowie] after 12 games, but we felt we had to make that change. We have got every confidence in the team we have put together of Les Reed, Mark Robson and Mark Kinsella, but they haven’t had the opportunity to make some of the changes they would like to make. Obviously that period is now coming up [in January].”

However, that would not necessarily rule out a shift in roles, with Pardew joining the management team with a title that would ensure minimum loss of face for Reed and the directors.

Reed is now odds-on to fail to see out the season at The Valley. William Hill immediately made him a 2-5 shot to lose his job before the end of the season and 11-10 to be the next Premiership manager to go.

An occasion that could have given a boost in confidence to a squad who are conspicuously lacking that vital commodity instead ended with extra pressure piled on a team and coaching staff that now have only their struggles at the foot of the Premiership to think about.

Jermaine Easter scored Wycombe’s goal for a victory that was far more convincing than the score suggests. Scott Carson, the Charlton goalkeeper, was his team’s star player — indeed, their only competent performer — and made a string of saves to keep the score down in the first half.

As the visiting fans taunted Charlton with chants of “Premiership? You’re having a laugh”, the home supporters joined in. “Obviously they are struggling in the Premiership, but I thought it would be tougher than it was,” Easter said.

Reed, the former FA coach who was brought in as assistant head coach in the summer, has been in charge for only seven matches since taking over from Dowie on November 14, but the supporters who staged a protest outside the main stand left the board of directors in no doubt that they would be happy if his tenure came to swift end.

Neither Reed nor Richard Murray, the chairman, spoke to the media after the match, which goes against Reed’s insistence on the eve of the tie that he was unaffected by criticism or speculation. The Charlton players also kept their silence.

It was reported that Reed had kept the players in the dressing-room for more than an hour after the final whistle, so it may be that he considered a post-match inquest into a lack of penetration, imagination and desire an understandable priority.

“Charlton are still a top-class side but we gave a good account of ourselves,” Paul Lambert, the Wycombe manager, said. It is one thing being beaten by a lower-league side, quite another to be patronised by them.