Aitor Karanka says Nottingham Forest must prepare for "war" when they travel to Burton Albion on Saturday (3pm).
The Reds' boss has issued a rallying cry ahead of his side's trip to the Pirelli Stadium, with Forest just seven points clear of the relegation zone following Saturday's 2-0 loss to fellow strugglers Hull City.
Karanka's appointment on January 8 after Mark Warburton's sacking was met with much fanfare, but the ex-Middlesbrough manager, with whom he won promotion with to the Premier League two seasons ago, has yet to get Forest going.
His side head to East Staffordshire having lost five of his six games in charge so far.
"It will be a battle," he said.
"But now every single game is a battle. Every team needs points. We are not in the same position as Burton but we still need points.
"Every single game now will be like a war for us and we have to battle.
"I know they are not in a good run, they are at the bottom of the table but, again, it is about us.
"It is about us trying to win the game, about us fighting for every single ball and coming back from behind if we do concede and scoring a second goal, if we do score the first goal ourselves.
"It is about us and us knowing that, if we do not fight like they will fight, we will not have any chance."
Karanka's Middlesbrough side that won promotion to the top-tier in 2016 were built on solid foundations and were notoriously difficult to break down, conceding the least amount of goals (31) of any Championship club in the 2015/16 season.
Forest have scored just three times since Karanka took over at the City Ground, and there is a sense that needs to be more attacking urgency from his side – a similar criticism levelled at him during his time on Teeside.
"We have to go there to try to win the game and it is not going to be a game like the ones against Fulham, Wolves or Hull - it is going to be a different kind of game,” he added.
"We need to approach the game in the best way possible and we need to know that if we do not fight as hard as them, we will not have any chance.
"We need to go there knowing that it will be a tough game and that they will fight for every single ball.
"They are fighting for their lives and we will need to match that fight and work. But we know we will have to work hard, first of all."
