"The situation in front of us is that it is going to be very very tight between now and the end of the year and you can't get away from that reality," he explains.
"If we don't get promoted then we have another shock coming in the summer and that is obviously something we are desperate to avoid.
"But you have to look at the club as a whole and the bigger picture - every club in this division has one eye on the golden chalice of the Premiership and one eye on the harsh reality of not making it.
"There are teams that are not even in this division that have suffered such as Sheffield Wednesday, QPR, and Huddersfield to some extent - the list can grow and grow and it is a very rocky road down here.
"You have got to be prepared, have a squad that keeps you in contention, is good enough to get you promoted, but not put yourselves at risk."