Aston Villa boss Alex McLeish has urged his side, who are 11/1 with bookmaker to be relegated, to try and get to 40 points as quickly as possible to avoid the drop.
Villa have been sucked to within five points of the bottom three following a run of just one win in their last eight Premier League games and McLeish is aware that the relegation trap door is just starting to creak open for the Midlanders.
He told the Daily Mirror: “We have to look to get to at least 40 points. That is the target I’d be giving to the players and get to that target as quickly as possible.
“I am concentrating on winning enough games to make sure Villa are okay.”
Villa’s next fixture sees them head to Anfield to take on an out-of-form Liverpool side on Saturday, with the Midlanders aiming for only their second league win at the home of the Reds since September 2001.