Preston North End boss Alan Irvine admits that his side are 'so close' to reaching the 54 point total which he feels will ensure his side's Championship future but the Scottish boss wants the points in the bag as soon as possible so as to avoid big pressure games at the end of the season.
"If we can get the three points then we are so close to reaching the target and I want the points now," Irvine said on Whites World ahead of the Roses battle with Sheffield United.
"I don't want to be saying that it's ok we can afford to lose this game because we can't. We need to win as many games between now and the end of the season as we possibly can.
"For every game that we don't win between now and the end of the season then the pressure builds more and more. Right at this moment we are all feeling good, we are all feeling confident but that can change very quickly.
"All it needs is a couple of disappointing results or a couple of poor performances and before you know it you are looking over your shoulder and are really worried.
"We have been going the right way for a number of weeks and it is not time to relax now, it's not time for the players to relax, it's not time for the staff and it's not time for the fans to relax either."
Last weekend's 2-1 victory over Burnley took the side to 50 points, six points clear of the relegation zone and that result also lead to many fans and pundits suggesting that the Lilywhites were now safe from harm, Irvine is quick to dismiss those thoughts.
He said: "Lot's of people think we are safe. I've had an awful lot of phonecalls from people saying 'That's fantastic, well done, you're safe', I keep saying to them that I don't think we are. I don't think 50 points will be enough.
"We can't assume that we are going to be ok. We've got ourselves in a great position because of how well we've performed since January and we need to make sure that we don't think that that's it, everything's done, that we've got plenty of games left to get the points that we need.
"The games soon run out and I don't want to be saying with three games to go that we still need four points to reach that target."
Preston currently lie six points from the relegation zone and nine points from the Play-Offs but a win over the Blades might reverse that situation and see them potentially two wins from the Play-Off zone, but the Gaffer isn't even contemplating a crack at the top six.
"That wasn't even something which was contemplated a month ago, nobody would have even dared to mention Play-Offs," Irvine smiled.
"I don't think we are going to be able to get to the Play-Offs because you are talking about us having to win three games more than the teams who are chasing those places at the moment and I don't think that that is a realistic possibility.
"But it's great that we are in a position where we can even mention it."
Tune into Whites World now to hear more from Alan Irvine including his thoughts on the manager of the month, Sheffield United, Tamas Priskin and why he didn't delve into the transfer market before deadline day.
