In Our Own Hands: Cobblers

Ouch. We all know how much that one hurt, especially when you're watching the game on Guandong sports with a five minute delay. It just serves to underline that 0-0 draws against Man City and Reading were not really enough.

Nobody's throwing in the towel, but we are rightly favourites to join Watford and West Ham. And without wishing to sound like the merchant of doom it's possible to outline perfectly viable scenarios under which - even assuming we beat Sheff Utd on Saturday - we need 42 points to stay up (Sheff Utd beat Watford at home and Villa away, get a point against Wigan; Wigan beat West Ham and Middlesbro at home; Fulham beat Blackburn at home and Middlesbro away).

Having previously threatened to throw something through the window if someone talks any more about passion, I'm now going to have to strangle anyone who says 'it's in our own hands'. Of course it bloody well is. And the same goes for all bar Watford. Any other team around the bottom which wins all their remaining games will stay up. The phrase is only useful when it comes to the last couple of games; it's effectively meaningless if everyone can say it without fear of contradiction. So, if you feel like saying it's in our own hands, please don't.

All we can do now is take each game as it comes - ha, a cliche which is relevant. We simply have to beat Sheff Utd on Saturday and at the same time hope against hope that Fulham fail to beat Blackburn at home. If these two things (one of which is by the way out of our hands) happen the odds will have shifted again and we would have a good shout.