WANDERERS and their Championship counterparts had a late-season sabbatical due to the international break this weekend.
But it is only the quiet before the run-in storm for those still in with a shot at a top-six finish.
A host of clubs, including Dougie Freedman’s Whites, will be back with a double-header over Easter looking to get off to a flyer in that sprint for the finishing line.
Wanderers will be keen to get back to winning ways after their last-gasp disappointment at Ipswich saw them drift to five points off an elusive top-six berth.
But the boss remains confident and, with three of their remaining eight fixtures against sides in the chase with them, they have a real chance to make up ground.
Just eight points separate fifth-placed Nottingham Forest and the five teams below them down to Leeds United in 10th – and FA Cup semi-finalists Millwall have two games in hand on everyone else which could see them in that mix.
In all, 10 teams are the realistic challengers alongside league-leaders Cardiff City, and while Wanderers have to travel to the Welsh capital in their run-in, their only other away trip to a fellow contender comes at Leicester in a month.The sole other challenger they come up against sees Middlesbrough visit the Reebok Stadium four days after the Leicester game.
When you assess the final countdown for the Championship’s top 10 as things stand, it is easy to see why Freedman remains positive about Wanderers’ hopes of making ground in the play-off race.
The team they need to target are Nigel Pearson’s Foxes and, as well as having the chance to beat them next month and gain three points on the Midlanders, Leicester also have the toughest run-in on paper.
Six of their eight remaining matches are against sides in the top 10, if Millwall win their games in hand.
Their last four are Wanderers at home, a trip to Crystal Palace and a home clash with Watford before they end with an crunch East Midlands derby at Nottingham Forest.
Both Forest and Watford face big games, too, with each facing five of their rivals and three of those on the road.
Watford travel to Hull City, Millwall and Leicester as well as hosting table-toppers Cardiff and Leeds on the final day.
Billy Davies’ resurgent Forest, meanwhile, host Brighton next before away days at Cardiff, Middlesbrough and Millwall inside a fortnight in April precede that possible May 4 shootout with Leicester.
Every team in the shake-up faces at least two of their rivals in potential six-pointers with Crystal Palace and Leeds having the fewest with two each.
Palace, who are currently fourth and 11 points better off than Wanderers, visit Millwall and host Leicester, while Leeds have a relatively straightforward six fixtures before ending their home campaign against Brighton before a last-day trip to Watford.
Of course, facing relegation-battlers can be just as tough in the run-in and Wanderers have back-to-back fixtures against two of the current bottom three next month when they host Wolves and travel to Bristol City.
Middlesbrough, Brighton and Hull also have two games against bottom-three sides with Wolves taking on all three as well as their trip to the Reebok.
Forest, Leicester, Leeds and Millwall do not come up against any of those currently sitting in the drop zone.
At the other end, Cardiff look red-hot favourites for the title after last weekend’s results saw them stretch their lead to seven points and still with a game in hand – at home to Barnsley on April 9 – to play.
Malky Mackay’s men are nine points ahead of third-placed Watford and seemingly strolling towards joining compatriots Swansea City in the top-flight.
They are due to take on Hull on the final day as one of three match-ups between teams chasing the play-off dream – Leeds v Watford and Forest v Leicester the other two.
After Cardiff, nine points then separate Hull in second to Brighton in seventh – and then come Wanderers.
Hope remains at the Reebok that the Ipswich defeat was just a blip.
And if the Whites can string together another eight games without defeat like they did prior to their Portman Road reverse, it promises to be a thrilling finale.
The first target must be an Easter Saturday victory at Charlton to head into British Summer Time taking their promotion bid forward and not further back.
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