As the final stretch of games comes around, it is time that lessons are learned from the fate suffered by several big-name clubs in recent seasons, who all experienced the crushing low of relegation.
Sheffield Wednesday midfielder James O'Connor insists the warning sirens are there at Hillsborough even if some players are under the illusion that the club are "too good" to drop out of the Championship.
The likes of Leeds United, Norwich City, Southampton and Charlton Athletic have all found themselves in League One in recent seasons and could be accused of having a similar attitude before they eventually tumbled down.
The Owls have already experienced that fate, falling into the third tier in 2003 before bouncing back up through the play-offs two years later.
O'Connor reckons Wednesday have enough quality in their squad to stay clear of the drop zone, but he is quick to state that "no club is too big to go down". That is something that his team-mates need to realise sooner rather than later.
"It is a dog-fight down there," O'Connor told Soccernet. "Everyone is scrapping to stay alive and you have to do everything in order to survive. There is no point in complaining about being in the mess, you just have to get yourself out of it. That isn't an easy thing to do and we could be fighting right to the end.
"I've heard some people say that Wednesday are too big of a club to go down, but that is nonsense. Look at what happened to Leeds and Norwich. They are big clubs and they are in League One trying to get back up.
"We know that there is a real danger of being relegated. Sometimes it doesn't hit the younger lads until the last few games of the season, but there is no hiding from the fact that we are fighting to stay in this league."
Despite having only five games left to pick up as many points as possible, the 30-year-old is staying calm as he knows that this is the time when cool heads are needed most. If Wednesday can beat Bristol City on Monday they will move on to 48 points and inch a little closer to manager Alan Irvine's 52-point target. However, that is asking a lot of a team who have conceded 61 goals so far this season.
O'Connor is staying upbeat though. The Dubliner has been one of the stand-out performers for his team this year, but he won't take any satisfaction from his own displays if his team suffer relegation.
"It is hugely important for the club that we don't get relegated. We have to pick up something from every game from now until the end of the season," he said. "I've played okay this season and have been reasonably pleased with how I've done. But that means nothing if we go down. It is all about the team staying in the Championship.
"I'd rather the team stayed up than people telling me I'm playing well in a team that got relegated. We are in this mess, so it is up to us to get ourselves out of it."
The ball-winning player could have been playing in the Premier League this season if he had opted to sign the contract extension that Burnley offered him in 2008. While he was tempted to stay with the Clarets following three years at Turf Moor, he boldly turned down the contract in order to kickstart a new adventure with Wednesday.
Some players may have regretted such a decision, but not O'Connor. He is strong-willed and knows what he wants, so it is unlikely that he would be caught wondering "what if" as he has more important things on his mind. In fact, he is full of positivity going into the game and credits Irvine, who only took over in January, with lifting the gloom around the club as they attempt to crawl their way to safety.
"From his first day on the training ground you could see that he had his own ideas and his own way of doing things. Alan [Irvine] knows what he wants from his team and every player knows what is expected of them," he said. "The training sessions have been excellent since he has come in. Everyone is working hard and there is a buzz around the place again. I think we all needed a bit of a lift.
"Alan did a great job at Preston and I thought he was harshly treated in the end. You just have to look at his record of saving them from relegation and then getting them into the play-offs without having big funds behind him.
"It was crazy for Preston to let him go, but their loss is our gain as he is a top class manager and he could be the man to help us get away from the bottom three."