With almost a quarter of the campaign completed, Wycombe Wanderers have a good idea of the target they must reach to continue playing Championship football next season.

When they return to action against Brentford on November 21, Wanderers face the challenge of needing to win at least 12 of their remaining games to give themselves a chance of survival in the second tier.

That would take them to 43 points, and although 47 is the average number needed to avoid relegation from the Championship, the figure has been coming down in recent years.

Birmingham stayed up with 44 points in 2013-14, Rotherham with 46 the following season. Bolton survived on just 43 points in 2017-18, Millwall with 44 a year later.

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If that trend continued, a dozen wins, and a handful of draws would probably be enough to keep Wanderers clear of relegation.

Sounds straightforward enough on paper, but it is a daunting prospect, and let us not forget that Peterborough were relegated in 2012-13 despite having 54 points.

Most pundits and bookmakers predicted that Wanderers would go straight back down to League One even before a ball had been kicked, but the Chairboys have improved immeasurably after a worrying start to life in the second tier.

A run of seven points from three games lifted the spirits of every Wycombe fan, and although they lost their last game at Nottingham Forest, there were plenty of positives to take from the performance.

The international break has come at the right time, allowing players to recharge their batteries after a hectic spell of six games in three weeks.

It will also help key men like Dominic Gape, Jason McCarthy and Uche Ikpeazu recover from injuries.

In addition, although I have never been a fan of VAR (video assistant referees), Wycombe could now be sitting in mid-table if it were being used in the Championship.

VAR has been mired in controversy since it was introduced in the Premier League two seasons ago, and it was back in the spotlight last week when Leeds striker Patrick Bamford had a goal disallowed against Crystal Palace.

Bamford pointed to where he wanted a pass from teammate Mateusz Klich before going on to score, only to have the goal ruled out by VAR because part of his arm was offside.

It was an example of VAR at its worst because it is supposed to eradicate only the kind of ‘clear and obvious errors’ by match officials that have befallen Wycombe this season.

They recently had two strong penalty claims turned down at Birmingham, but at least they went on to win, unlike earlier games where decisions cost them dearly.

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Scott Kashket had a goal chalked off for a dubious offside call when they lost at Luton, and Joe Jacobson thought he had scored direct from a corner in the defeat against Millwall, only for the assistant referee to flag for a mystery ‘offence’ that would surely have been overruled by VAR.

Against Watford, visiting goalkeeper Ben Foster punched the ball into his own net for what could have been a winning goal for Wanderers, but was harshly disallowed for a foul by Alex Samuel.

Worse was to come in the defeat at Norwich, where VAR might have persuaded referee Gavin Ward to reverse two major decisions that cost Wycombe a point.

They were denied a clear penalty in the first half, and Norwich’s Mario Vrancic conned the official for the free kick that led to their late winner.

It is pure conjecture, of course, and every team can point to decisions that have gone against them, but with a little help from VAR, Wycombe’s points total would be looking a lot healthier. than it is now.