Derby County, Aston Villa and Cardiff City have all spent time in second spot recently.
Derby County forward Matej Vydra believes the pressure for automatic promotion has switched to rivals Aston Villa as Steve Bruce’s men climbed above the East Midlands side, dcfc.co.uk reports.
The Rams spent a good five weeks in second spot following a 12-game unbeaten run stretching back to November, but a recent slump in form has allowed others to overtake them.
Cardiff City, Villa and Fulham are now emerging as the other three teams vying for automatic promotion, and a seven-game winning run momentarily saw Villa edge in front of Derby and in to second spot.
As a result, Vydra explains that being in second place comes with the added pressure of staying ahead of your rivals and such a scenario could have played a part in Villa’s defeat at Fulham on Saturday.
“Now that we are third in the table, the pressure isn’t as big on us. When you’re second, everyone is chasing you and that is a pressure that Aston Villa have to deal with,” the Czech international told Derby’s official website.
Villa’s stint in second spot certainly did not last long, as defeat to fellow promotion-chasers Fulham allowed Cardiff to move back into the automatic promotion spots following their 1-0 win over Middlesbrough.
With 14 games remaining, it is safe to assume that there will be many fluctuations between now and the end of the season with that second spot changing hands on a regular basis.
The Villans have the squad depth and quality across the board to go the distance and, before the season had kicked off many fancied them for an automatic promotion spot considering the resources at their disposal.
Key games between the sides are still to be played, with Cardiff visiting Pride Park in March and Villa hosting the Rams in the penultimate game of the season.
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