ALAN Curbishley is not ruling out a move for James Beattie in the January transfer window.

The Charlton boss was said to be after the Saints striker and captain last month and was remaining coy about the situation last night.

Curbishley said: "We have got to get through to Christmas and then evaluate where we are.

"If there is some money at Christmas, we will have to try and do something.

"We couldn't do it at the end of the transfer window and, if we need to reinforce, then we will do it."

Curbishley was full of praise for the way Steve Wigley's Saints performed in last night's goalless draw and admitted his team could have lost.

"Credit to Southampton, they came and worked as hard as any team," he said.

"They stopped us playing and you have to give them credit - they got a draw and could have won."

A section of Charlton fans booed their team off the pitch and Curbishley admitted the display had been below the standards he expects.

"We have gone past being a newly-promoted club and we didn't play well," he said.

"You can't knock the crowd, they pay their money and we will have to improve.

"It's unexplainable really. We had people who looked like they couldn't pass the ball ten or 15 yards.

"They were the same players that were passing the ball for fun against Aston Villa.

"Without the keeper and the back-four we would have lost. Since Christmas we have had nine players out who would mostly have been in the team and we have had to replace them and that will take time for them to settle.

"It has been difficult for us to get going but I take comfort from getting a point when we haven't played well."