Middlesbrough head coach Michael Carrick said his team's Good Friday match against Plymouth Argyle is "vital" but not a "must-win" match.
Boro have slipped to eighth in the Championship after successive defeats and are now three points outside of the play-off places.
They have four games left, including a potentially decisive game away to Coventry City - the side currently sixth - on the final day of the season on 3 May.
But first they face bottom side Plymouth as Carrick's team attempt to get back to winning ways.
"It's not must-win because things might happen and we might not win and still get to where we want to be," he told BBC Radio Tees.