riga was appointed as manager of charlton athletic on 11 march 2014, one day after the sacking of their previous manager, chris powell, who had been dismissed when the club owner and powell were unable to reach agreement over the long-term vision for the club. at the time charlton were fourth from bottom of the championship. riga was appointed the manager with a contract which lasted until the end of the 2013–14 season; the main task was to secure championship football for charlton. this was achieved on 29 april 2014 following a 3-1 home win against watford.