Ipswich Town manager Mick McCarthy says today’s game at fellow Championship strugglers Wigan is a ‘six-pointer’ – and that he’d take a goalless draw combined with a good performance.

The Blues are 17th in the table, while Wigan are second-bottom. Both teams have claimed just 14 points from their last 14 matches, with a point-per-game relegation form.

This is also a clash between the division’s two lowest scorers. For Town it’s 19 in 21 (five in 10 away), while for the Latics it’s 16 in 21 (six in 10 at home).

Asked if today’s game takes on extra importance because of the two team’s respective form and positions, McCarthy quickly interjected: “It’s a six-pointer isn’t it? A six-pointer – without a doubt.”

He genuinely thinks that, with more than half the season to go, this is a ‘six-pointer’?

“Yeah, because we’d prefer to be three more points in front of Wigan. We want to win on Saturday so we can come back here (for home games against Fulham on Boxing Day and Bristol City on Friday, December 30) and play with a lot more confidence.

“Is it ‘must-win?’ If we lost and won the next six it wouldn’t really matter, but if we lose on Saturday we’re not likely to win the next six are we? We could do with a win.

“We just don’t want to get beaten. We’ve got to make sure we get something out of the game. There’s got to be a starting point.”

McCarthy’s mantra has always been ‘every point’s a prisoner’. Is he saying he would take a draw at the DW Stadium today?

“I’m not going up there to try and get a point before anyone starts saying ‘he’s being really negative’. No, that’s not the case. We’re going there to try and win and put us in a much better position.

“But, with the results that we’ve been having, if we go there and play as well as we possibly can, we put in a good performance and end up with a nil-nil draw I’ll take that.”

He added: “But we need to win mate, we need to win. We need to get goals and we need to win games.”

– Follow @Stuart_Watson on Twitter for live match updates from the DW Stadium.