THANKS to a managerial career that has spanned almost two-and-a-half decades, Mick McCarthy is regarded as something of an expert when it comes to winning promotion to the Premier League.

So after his Ipswich side secured the goalless draw at Middlesbrough that ensured the top three teams in the Championship will head into the final two games of the season locked together on 87 points, the former Sunderland boss seemed as well placed as anyone to predict the final outcome. “I haven’t got a clue,” said McCarthy. “Not a clue.” Join the rest of us Mick.

It has long been claimed that the Championship is the most competitive league in the country, but even by its usual hard-fought standards, this year’s promotion battle is set to be an epic.

Not only are Burnley, Middlesbrough and Brighton locked together on the same number of points, only three goals separate the three teams on goal difference. And, of course, to add further spice, Boro host Brighton on the final day of the season.

It could hardly be tighter, or any more fraught. Burnley, who currently inhabit top spot, haven’t lost since Boxing Day. Brighton, whose mid-season blip is now a long-forgotten memory, have won seven of their last eight games. And while Boro slipped up on Saturday as they failed to break down an obdurate Ipswich rearguard, they have still gone eight games without a defeat.

The bookmakers make Burnley marginal favourites, presumably because, on paper at least, they have the easier run-in. But given the drama that has ensued in the opening 44 matches, it is safe to assume there will be twists and turns aplenty in the remaining two games. Trying to predict what happens next is futile, although there is one thing McCarthy is sure about.

“I wouldn’t like to be the team that finishes third,” he said. “They’ll be mentally scarred, no doubt. If you drop out at the last knockings you’ll be sick and then it's a difficult one to rally yourselves for.

“Everyone will say, ‘You’ll be alright, you’re still in the play-offs’, but it’s such a big disappointment. They are three good teams that are up there, but you wouldn’t necessarily back the one that finishes third.”

Boro know all about the heartbreak of missing out in the play-offs of course, so it is to be hoped the memory of last season’s Wembley anguish acts as a spur in the next two weeks.

Saturday’s stalemate has made life more difficult, although in a sense nothing has really changed as a result of Boro slipping into second position. Win their remaining two matches, and Aitor Karanka’s side will still be guaranteed promotion. Provided they claim at least a point in Friday’s game at Birmingham, any win against Brighton will suffice.

Lose at St Andrew’s, and the permutations are just about endless, but for now, Boro remain masters of their own destiny. That is different to last season, when they were playing catch up as they travelled to Fulham for their final away game and were forced to gamble recklessly, and for all that it was bitterly disappointing not to make a breakthrough at the weekend, Karanka was right to accentuate the positives in the wake of his side’s efforts.

“Of course I am still positive,” said the Boro head coach. “We are in an amazing position. I can’t understand who could be pessimistic now when we are almost at the top of the table, and the last game is at home against a direct rival.

“I can’t understand people being pessimistic because two years ago, we were playing to stay in the Championship. Now, to be in this position cannot be a negative thing.”

The standard of Boro’s performance was another fairly positive factor, and while they might have dropped four points in the space of a week, this is not a side that appears to be choking with the finishing line in sight.

It is, however, a team that has struggled to score heavily all season. If there is a concern ahead of the final two matches, it is that Boro’s tally of 60 league goals is eight short of Burnley’s total and ten shy of Brighton’s.

The Teessiders continue to keep clean sheets – the shut-out against Ipswich was their 24th of the season in all competitions – but they have failed to score in three of their last nine matches and that is alarming.

Jordan Rhodes came closest to a breakthrough against Ipswich, striking the post with a decent second-half effort and shooting too close to goalkeeper Bartosz Bialkowski when he was released through the middle shortly before the break.

Albert Adomah might have done better with a first-half header that drifted wide, Emilio Nsue saw a shot blocked when well positioned and even David Nugent, who boasts such a superb record against Ipswich, was unable to beat Bialkowski with a stoppage-time header after coming off the bench with eight minutes left.

“We have two games left now, and they are the most important games of the season,” said Karanka. Let the drama begin…