Gareth Ainsworth admitted he would much rather have points on the board than games in hand as he predicts the battle for safety will be a “very close” one.

Wanderers played back-to-back FA Cup games meaning they have only played one league game in 2021 as they have not played a Championship fixture since January 2.

This has added to the already hectic fixture schedule that the Chairboys will face as Ainsworth’s side has two games in hand on some of the teams above them in the table.

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The manager said: “We are looking forward to seeing what we can do but we need to get back to normal now with the illness situation because we got a lot of games coming up.

“There is an onslaught of fixtures."

The first thing Ainsworth is focused on is chasing down Sheffield Wednesday who sits one place and four points above Wanderers.

Sheffield Wednesday have played a game more than Wycombe but Wednesday did start the season with a six points deduction.

Ainsworth said: “Sheffield Wednesday are our closest rivals, we need to have a look at catching them first and see what we can do after that.

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“It will be very close this season, and in the second half of this season, we're going to be in a relegation battle.

“The games in hand are going to be important but points on the board are much more important.

“Everyone around us has seemed to pick up points."

Ainsworth is keen to give the message to his players that they only have to finish 21st in the Championship to have a successful season.

He said: “We’ve just got to finish above three teams and that’s the message I’ll be giving them."