NEIL Lennon believes Wanderers can still reach the play-offs.

The Whites manager has so far been reluctant to set targets but says the steady progress being made at the club is giving him reason for optimism.

Having finally dragged themselves clear of the bottom three, Wanderers are now 10 points off the top six and Lennon has told fans not to count anything out in the New Year.

“I’ve been surprised by the quality in the division as a whole but pleased by the progress we have made,” he said.

“Every time we seem to get a positive result, other teams around us get one as well so we haven’t been able to jump many places. It has been a gradual progression.

“We are realistically trying to look at the play-offs but it’s going to take a big effort.”

Wanderers have taken the same number of points from the first 20 games of the campaign as they did 12 months ago.

And with talk of a bolstered strikeforce in the transfer window and a feelgood factor spreading throughout the club, there is a sense anything could be possible.

The manager remains pragmatic, saying: "There’s time for anything to happen but it can also go the other way.

“You get a couple of defeats and all of a sudden you’re back down there and staring up at the rest of the table.

“There are always going to be a few bumps in the road with 20-odd games left to go but the players are confident, without being over-confident.

“They have got a bit of belief about them and some are playing very, very well.”

Lennon has also been impressed by the standard of football in the Championship.

“A lot of teams are trying to work it from the back, play football if that’s what you want to call it,” he said.

“It’s very rare you see a side go direct all the time.

“And it’s an even spread – there’s no outstanding team in it and no-one who is going to be cast adrift.

“When you look at the results, they are so unpredictable, so for us to be five unbeaten is very pleasing because results can go either way.”