Nigel Clough reckons Burton Albion are due a good run in the Championship as they head up the A38 to Derby County this weekend.
And the Brewers boss knows that keeping the teams currently above them close will be an integral part of their campaign if Albion are to achieve survival once again.
Clough's side are yet to string a sequence of unbeaten games together since sandwiching the home win over Fulham on September 16 between two 0-0 draws at Norwich City and QPR.
With the likes of Sunderland, Hull City and Birmingham City all struggling this term, Clough acknowledged the importance of not letting the sides above form their own breakaway to create an unbridgeable gap.
It is getting congested at the bottom, with Burton currently 23rd place with 14 points from 19 games played, leaving them one above the bottom of the table and six points off 18-placed Barnsley.
That is without even mentioning Bolton Wanderers, who, while bottom of the league, have embarked on a resurgence of late, having lost just one of their last eight matches - with that defeat their most recent, a 5-1 reverse to Wolves on Saturday.
"As many (teams) as we can," Clough said of keeping teams in the mix with Burton.
"Staying in touch, that's the biggest thing.
"Because I do believe we're going to have a run - a good run.
"We've had our bad run, and I do believe we're going to have a good run at some point where we'll get an unbeaten run together - and all of a sudden that can make a big difference.
"But you don't want to be just fighting with four teams, that's dangerous.
"You want to try to get in that pack where there’s seven or eight teams.
"And at the moment we're adrift of that."
It is looking increasingly likely that last term's golden figure of 52 points - the tally the Brewers reached to ensure survival by a single point above relegated Blackburn Rovers - will be more than enough to avoid relegation this time around.
With the Brewers on the run of form that they have been at home, coupled with the injury problems that have plagued them, Clough is hoping there will be some wriggle room come the end of the season.
"We hope so, and we think it will," Clough said when asked if it will take less than last term's amount to achieve survival.
"But we sincerely hope so.
"Hopefully a few teams will get some points at the top and it won’t be as tight and as congested as it was last season.
"If we're looking at 50-odd points again, then from this point on it’s going to be a tall order - judging by the form so far, that's all."
