Stand-in keeper Bartosz Bialkowski, whose first two league appearances have helped Town back into the Championship’s top six, has insisted automatic promotion is a realistic target.

The Pole has replaced the injured Dean Gerken and helped to bank maximum points from the wins at Blackpool last weekend and Wolves at home on Tuesday.

Bialkowski, 27, said: “I think we have the potential to go up automatically. We have already played against some of the top teams and taken points off them. Our results so far suggest we can be up there at the end of the season.

“You also have to remember we have been unlucky to lose points through conceding very late goals or we could have been at the very top by now.

"That is why it was good to beat Wolves by going ahead at 2-1 and then seeing the game out. We were very solid and that is what you need to be if you are going to win promotion.

“We all know it is a long season with plenty of games still left to play but we’ve got some momentum now and we must try to keep that going. It’s very tight in the top half of the league and all the teams will think they have a chance. We just need to take it step by step and do everything we can to stay up there.”

Town could do their cause a lot of good with a win over promotion rivals Watford at Portman Road o Saturday. The third-placed Hornets were Championship leaders until a shock midweek defeat at lowly Birmingham saw them overhauled by both Middlesbrough and Bournemouth.

Bialkowski added: “We are full of confidence, on a good run, but they have some good players. They try to play football so it’s going to be a big test for us.

“You never know, I might be busy. Hopefully I will be because it is difficult for a goalkeeper when you don’t have much to do in a game and then suddenly you are called upon.

“You need to stay focused and keep your concentration. I like to stay warm all game. I’m not scared of having to face a lot of shots because that is my job and I enjoy it.

“The busier I am and the better I play, the more chance I have of staying in the team, but the main thing on Saturday is that we win the game. Nothing is more important than that.”

Photo: Action Images

warktheline added 07:40 - Nov 7 Careful Bart, some might call you deluded!
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BlueySwede added 08:17 - Nov 7 At Portman Road today? Anyway, we will need some luck to get into the top 2, but everything is possible I guess.
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Dolly2.0 added 10:21 - Nov 7 No offence, Bart, but I hope you're bored stiff tomorrow.
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whittonite added 10:40 - Nov 7 lets see where we are in january after the heavy christmas period.come through that with the majority of your squad intact and some good wins, then we have a good shout,and as we all know this league is like quicksand if you get stuck in a rut with how tight this league is you can get sucked into a battle to survive in no time at all.me personally,i'm still counting how many points away we are from the bottom three.i'll start looking up if we get forty points in the next few weeks.glad to see bart is so enthusiastic but i hope his focus is on keeping shots out,rather than counting yer eggs before they've hatched!

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whittonite added 10:43 - Nov 7 oooppsy!i meant chicks!
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NoCanariesAllowed added 10:48 - Nov 7 Good to hear such optimism and ambition coming out of the club, but I'm not sure I go along with a top two target. On the basis of the extra points we could so easily have claimed in October, yes, we could well have been sitting pretty in the top two by now. But to finish there requires a level of consistency that I'm not confident we could sustain with the squad at our disposal - even if the performance of the depleted lineup on Tuesday gave me significant encouragement. Top six will be just fine for me this year.

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TimmyH added 13:26 - Nov 7 It really could be one of those seasons where a number of teams could be in competition for the top 2 places never mind the play-offs. So far this season there is no team which stands out as an automatic promotion candidate. Championship so more exciting than the over hyped Premiership!
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