Nigel Clough reckons Burton Albion will need to pull "something close to a miracle out of the bag" if they are to survive relegation to League One this season.
The Brewers' chances of securing Championship football for a third successive season have fallen drastically over the Easter weekend.
Burton's point from their two games against Cardiff City and Middlesbrough, coupled with 21st-placed Birmingham City's good run of form, now means Clough's outfit sit eight points from safety.
But as ever, the Albion boss is determined to stay positive, insisting that Albion's remaining fixtures are all "winnable."
Albion start with a trip to the Blues on Saturday (3pm) followed by the visit of Hull City on Tuesday night. Trips to Sunderland and Preston North End and home matches against Bolton Wanderers and Derby County round off Albion's second Championship campaign.
"I think the last six games that we've got are winnable ones," he said.
"And we included Middlesbrough in that , and the Cardiff game to a certain degree as well.
"We keep saying that if we can just get that one result, that one win - and we should have had it on Monday.
"If we can just get it on Saturday and see what happens with the other results, it will just put a bit of pressure on the other teams.
"Even if we beat Birmingham, that puts five points between us and them, and however Bolton and Reading do.
"We've all got difficult games to go, and we've got to pull something close to a miracle out of the bag, but we're going to try."
Clough and his Brewers squad have always stressed that they are going to look after themselves, with results of their fellow strugglers of no concern to them.
But it's impossible not to keep an eye on how Birmingham, Reading and Bolton are doing.
And Clough hopes that the pressure of just about surviving gets to one of those sides eventually.
It happened last season, with Blackburn Rovers' run of one win in ten through March and April condemning them to the bottom three from 20th place.
They ended the season five games unbeaten, but the damage had already been done and Rovers went from two points clear of the relegation zone to two points adrift.
Tony Mowbray's side were subsequently relegated - and Clough hopes something similar will happen this season to one of the teams fighting it out with Burton.
"That's what we're clinging on to, as well," Clough added.
"That one of those teams can suffer that sort of fate in the last five or six matches.
"We know that we've got to win at least three games now, and hope somebody else slips up.
"It's very possible in the Championship to go five games and lose them all without blinking, and not do too much differently and all of a sudden you’re among the wins.
"We're hoping that one of those teams might go through that sort of blip in the last few matches."
