BOURNEMOUTH
The manager: Eddie Howe
“The lead has changed so many times, it’s almost become the tag no-one wants.
“Everyone who hits the front seems to come away from it.
“That’s been the nature of it and it may stay that way until the end of the season.
“It is the team now which can be the most consistent and that’s why back-to-back wins are so important at this stage.”
The journalist: Andy Mitchell (Bournemouth Echo)
“I’m not sure Cherries fans are feeling ‘nerves’ because everything about this season has exceeded expectations already and even if they don’t go up automatically it will still have been the best season in our history. The previous best finish was 10th.
“And it helps that we’ve played so well at home and scored a lot of goals so the crowd are generally upbeat going into matches.
“Being top raised expectations a bit but the atmosphere has never got tetchy or negative, even when we dropped back a bit.
“We’ve had slip-ups and a five-game wobble and there was a little bit of frustration in some sections but never really a fear that we’d ‘blown it’.
“And we still played well in that run and everyone knows Eddie Howe’s passing principles so we haven’t had fans screaming to knock it long or getting angry.
“Winning so well at Fulham settled any nerves that were starting to bubble up.
“If there is a slight worry it is that we sometimes look vulnerable after scoring a goal as the team push for a second.”
Action Images / Lee Smith
Derby manager Steve McClaren
DERBY COUNTY
The manager: Steve McClaren
“We are where we want to be although we know we could be a few points better off.
“But our destiny is in our own hands, as we always wanted it.
“So if we do it or don’t do it, it’s down to ourselves. We will have no one to blame but ourselves for future games, that is the key message.
“We just have to get on with it and make sure we see the last 10 games through.”
The journalist: Steve Nicholson (Derby Telegraph)
“Last year Derby came out of the pack to challenge for promotion and it was really enjoyable for the players and the fans.
“This season hasn’t been enjoyable. It’s been business. And it has been about managing expectations.
“Derby have pretty much been favourites from the off and that brings a different kind of pressure.
“Last season Derby lost in the play-offs and that was a setback but fans seemed optimistic because it showed we had a good side and then the club strengthened in the summer and again in January so expectations are we will go up this year, that ‘this is our season’.
“But we’ve been at the top a few times and had what looked like generous fixtures and had good opportunities to pull away and not taken them and that has fed into the nerves of the fans.
“In the last three games we’ve played teams in the bottom half - two in the bottom six - and taken just one point and to lose a two-goal lead in stoppage time against Birmingham was a big blow to collective confidence.
“A few months back we had a rock solid defence and had kept seven clean sheets in eight and supporters were confident going into games.
“Now we have leaked two or more goals in seven of the last eight so you can feel the nerves in the crowd even when we are ahead.
“And I think it will only get worse in the run-in. Like Boro we have a tough run now - Norwich away, Boro at home, Wolves away and Watford at home.
“A good return and people will be bubbling with confidence again but a bad run and I think the nerves and frustrations will come to the surface again.”
PA
Watford manager Slavisa Jokanovic
WATFORD
The manager: Slavisa Jokanovic
“The Championship is crazy and there are so many strange results every week and no-one has managed to break clear.
“What we must do now is keep going and prepare well for what is in front us.
“Now it is about who makes fewest mistakes and who has the Championship mentality.”
The journalist: Adam Newson, Watford Observer
“There are no real nerves here among the team or the fans.
“We’ve been consistently clocking up points all season and there have been no real blips or bad runs to scare supporters into thinking the team will wobble at the end.
“And we have really gone under the radar all year. Whenever the pundits talk about automatic it is always Boro, Derby and Bournemouth even though we’ve never been out of the top six for five months.
“The atmosphere is good. Fans are patient and supportive.
“We have won a lot of matches at home and been pretty ruthless against the lower sides and although we haven’t got the best record against the top six, in the games we’ve lost the match has been close and turned on a refereeing decision so there has always been mitigating circumstances.
“The fans believe Watford are on course for promotion as they can see the owners three year plan starting to bear fruit.
“In the first year they lost on the final day when automatic was in reach then blew up in the play-offs and last year it all fizzled out but the squad has been strengthened this year and clicked and even though we’ve had four coaches this season they’ve never wavered.
“So I think there is a quiet confidence about fans and up to now everything is unfolding as expected - although we play Ipswich, Derby and Boro in succession soon so we’ll see how fans feel after that.”
Norwich City manager Alex Neil
NORWICH CITY
The manager: Alex Neil
“The form and the fixtures of all the teams at the top are going to make for a really exciting run-in.
“We are going well and have managed to close in on the leading group and we need to keep it going.
“When the dust settles on this season, we want to be in one of the top two spots.
“I wouldn’t say it would be a failure to not reach it but I’ll be disappointed as there is no reason we can’t.”
The journalist: Paddy Dervitt, Eastern Daily Press
“It’s strange but Norwich fans don’t seem particularly jumpy, although that is probably because with seven wins in eight we are the form team.
“And I suppose we had our spell of frustration, anger and in-fighting earlier in the season.
“We kicked-off having just been relegated, with money behind us and a very strong squad so expectations were very high and we got off to a flying start but then after two wins in 20 the season was drifting and that’s when fans were in turmoil and the anger bubbled.
“Now with a new manager and a dramatic upturn, the fans are in a good place.
“The feeling is we have salvaged the season and made ourselves strong contenders while other sides are dropping points. Fans feel there is a high chance of the top two.
“How things would change if we lost a few is hard to say. But no-one is getting carried away.
“Some fans are sounding a note of caution: We still have to play Derby and Boro at home and we have to go away to three bogey grounds in Leeds, Sheffield Wednesday and Fulham, where we haven’t won since 1986.”
Brentford Manager Mark Warburton
BRENTFORD
The manager: Mark Warburton
“We have been in the top six since November, something that speaks volumes for my players.
“We have done incredibly well to get into that position and stay there and for that we can be proud.
“I have told them they are just 10 games from the Premier League, the promised land.”
The journalist: Jake Murtagh (Get West London)
“The atmosphere around the club is a bit weird right now.
“A lot of people - including Bees fans - expected them to crack up and fall away at some point but they have kept going and stayed up there in the top six so it feels a bit surreal.
“There is a definite feeling that it is a dream come true to be battling for promotion to the Premier League so fans can’t believe there luck.
“There’s no nerves as such. There is a realism about the situation. We know that people think Brentford and Bournemouth are tinpot clubs getting above their station so just being in the top six is a success.
“And people who watch the team every week know we are there on merit and but for the little wobble, when all the stuff about the manager’s future blew up, we’d be top now.
“And fans are generally happy as we’ve been excellent at home and bar the Boro game we have won games comfortably.
“We don’t the expectation of a top two place so there is no pressure on us like there is on Derby or Boro. As long as we make the play-offs it will have been a brilliant season.”
Mick McCarthy
IPSWICH TOWN
The manager: Mick McCarthy
“We go into every game looking to win or at least take a point and keep pecking away at those above us, trying to get enough points to stay in the play-offs.
“If we continue to play like we are we’ll get more good results than bad ones and should be in the mix for the promotion spots, whether that be the top two or six. But the league’s bonkers and teams at the top keep dropping points. Maybe we should be more worried about the ones pecking beneath us than the ones above us.
“That’s the way it is. It’s going to be right to the very last game, the very last minute probably.”
The journalist: Stuart Watson, Ipswich Star
“Everyone is a little nervy now because we are coming to the sharp end but I don’t think the pressure is on us as much as some of the other teams up there.
“We had a respectable but not remarkable finish last season and we spent no money in the summer so we kicked off as dark horses and hoping to squeeze into the play-offs at best.
“Everyone would have taken the position we are in now back in August but since then we’ve had good spells and been up in second or third so now it is very frustrating to be a point outside the play-offs.
“I don’t think nerves have set in but we have injuries which have weighed heavily against us. We had a fantastic December but then hit a bit of wall. We’ve only one had one win in five, lost to Norwich, which always hurts, and drifted a bit.
“Fans are divided between those who think the club should gamble and bring in players on loan and go for what could be our best chance in years for promotion and those who are realistic and think we have to stay within the budget.
“Most think we can still barge our way back in but I think the feeling is that while the squad are honest and organised and work hard, they maybe lack a bit of quality.”
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