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Nearly two thirds of Wanderers fans believe the club can complete the great escape after Saturday’s win against Rotherham United.
A Twitter poll of 870 votes found that 63 per cent of supporters feel the Whites will avoid relegation to League One.
The club has taken seven points from the last three league games to lift itself off the foot of the table for the first time since November and though the history books show they are still in an incredibly vulnerable position, Neil Lennon believes hopes have now been raised within the squad.
“Teams are starting to look at us now,” he said. “We’re off the foot of the table, which psychologically is great. I’d have liked to be closer but Bristol City won at Charlton.
“The gap is three points now – a couple of weeks ago it was six, maybe seven.
“It was important we won the two home games (against MK Dons and Rotherham), and then the draw (at Wolves) in midweek, so that is good form we’re in.”
Lennon’s optimism must be qualified with the fact no side has recovered from Wanderers’ current position to avoid relegation in the last decade.
Their haul of 24 points from 30 games would spell relegation in each of the last 10 seasons – with Nottingham Forest the only club who have come close to achieving what Wanderers are aiming at.
The East Midlanders went through three managers – Billy Davies, Steve McClaren and Steve Cotterill – and also saw the passing of their chairman Nigel Doughty as they dabbled with the drop in 2012.
Forest had 25 points after 30 games but recovered significantly to take 25 points from their last 16 and finish comfortably above trouble.
Charlton took a similar haul of 24 points from their last 16 games in 2014 to finish 18th after being bottom of the league with 27 points after 30 games.
Wanderers have tough fixtures against Brighton and QPR coming up but must find some way of maintaining their form to achieve the accepted standard of safety, 49 points.
That has been the average haul for any side finishing 21st since the turn of the millennium. And for Wanderers to achieve it, they would have to win half of their remaining games.
The average number of points for a side finishing 22nd is just above 46.
This time last season two of the three relegated sides were in a worse position than Lennon’s team – with Wigan Athletic (22) and Blackpool (20). Millwall had 27 points from their 30 games.
And in the last 10 years, only eight of the 30 relegated teams have had fewer than 24 points at this stage of the season – the worst of which was Blackpool 12 months ago.
Sheffield Wednesday (2010) and Leicester City (2008) were relegated despite having taken 34 points from their opening 30 games. Portsmouth had 35 in 2012 but went into administration and were docked 10.
Though the numbers do not make great reading for Wanderers, the belief is still evident among fans and the players.
“They haven’t given up,” insisted assistant manager Steve Walford at the end of last week. “There has been a lot of pressure on them but I think some of them are starting to live with that a bit better.
“None of them want a relegation on their CV, they want to keep the club in the Championship, which would be a massive achievement.
“They need that belief. Staying in this league is still possible.”
Source
A Twitter poll of 870 votes found that 63 per cent of supporters feel the Whites will avoid relegation to League One.
The club has taken seven points from the last three league games to lift itself off the foot of the table for the first time since November and though the history books show they are still in an incredibly vulnerable position, Neil Lennon believes hopes have now been raised within the squad.
“Teams are starting to look at us now,” he said. “We’re off the foot of the table, which psychologically is great. I’d have liked to be closer but Bristol City won at Charlton.
“The gap is three points now – a couple of weeks ago it was six, maybe seven.
“It was important we won the two home games (against MK Dons and Rotherham), and then the draw (at Wolves) in midweek, so that is good form we’re in.”
Lennon’s optimism must be qualified with the fact no side has recovered from Wanderers’ current position to avoid relegation in the last decade.
Their haul of 24 points from 30 games would spell relegation in each of the last 10 seasons – with Nottingham Forest the only club who have come close to achieving what Wanderers are aiming at.
The East Midlanders went through three managers – Billy Davies, Steve McClaren and Steve Cotterill – and also saw the passing of their chairman Nigel Doughty as they dabbled with the drop in 2012.
Forest had 25 points after 30 games but recovered significantly to take 25 points from their last 16 and finish comfortably above trouble.
Charlton took a similar haul of 24 points from their last 16 games in 2014 to finish 18th after being bottom of the league with 27 points after 30 games.
Wanderers have tough fixtures against Brighton and QPR coming up but must find some way of maintaining their form to achieve the accepted standard of safety, 49 points.
That has been the average haul for any side finishing 21st since the turn of the millennium. And for Wanderers to achieve it, they would have to win half of their remaining games.
The average number of points for a side finishing 22nd is just above 46.
This time last season two of the three relegated sides were in a worse position than Lennon’s team – with Wigan Athletic (22) and Blackpool (20). Millwall had 27 points from their 30 games.
And in the last 10 years, only eight of the 30 relegated teams have had fewer than 24 points at this stage of the season – the worst of which was Blackpool 12 months ago.
Sheffield Wednesday (2010) and Leicester City (2008) were relegated despite having taken 34 points from their opening 30 games. Portsmouth had 35 in 2012 but went into administration and were docked 10.
Though the numbers do not make great reading for Wanderers, the belief is still evident among fans and the players.
“They haven’t given up,” insisted assistant manager Steve Walford at the end of last week. “There has been a lot of pressure on them but I think some of them are starting to live with that a bit better.
“None of them want a relegation on their CV, they want to keep the club in the Championship, which would be a massive achievement.
“They need that belief. Staying in this league is still possible.”
Source