Jamie McAllister insists nothing less than three points will do when Bristol City clash with West rivals Plymouth Argyle at Ashton Gate tonight.

Defeat at Wolves on Saturday means City are now 10 points behind the Championship leaders and seven adrift of second-placed Birmingham.

And McAllister claims he and his team-mates must begin to close the gap now if they are to have any hope of catching the early frontrunners.

He declared: "The gap is already a big one and we can't allow it to get any bigger. We know we have to close it as soon as possible and that starts on Tuesday night.

"We all want to catch Wolves and Birmingham if we can and that means taking all three points against Plymouth. We have to do that if we're to put ourselves within touching distance of the top two."

City take on Sheffield United at Bramall Lane on Saturday before embarking upon the two-week international break, and McAllister says a position in the top six represents a minimum requirement.

"The three points is massive for us," said the Scot. "We need a win to keep us in the top six and this is a big game for us.

"We're in sixth place at the moment, but the situation is getting tighter with teams closing up behind. We need to try and open up a bit of a gap if we can."

City boss Gary Johnson likes to assess his team's performance every 10 games and that juncture is rapidly approaching.

McAllister revealed how he and his teammates are determined to surpass last season's 17-point haul from the opening 10 games.

"We set ourselves targets at the start of every season and it will be 10 games after Saturday," confirmed the left-back. "If we win the next two it will put us on 18 points, one better than we managed last year.

"That's a big incentive for us going into the next two games."

McAllister anticipates a big-match atmosphere inside Ashton Gate tonight and is keen to highlight the importance of home advantage.

He said: "There's always a good atmosphere here, but I especially enjoy the midweek games under lights. They're always a little bit more special.

"Hopefully, we can put on a performance which will get the fans going right from the start. We need to start with a high tempo and take the game to them."

City's players will be out to avenge the 2-1 defeat they suffered at the hands of the Pilgrims when last the sides met at Ashton Gate in March.

Rory Fallon scored twice that day to inflict a setback which McAllister believes cost he and his teammates automatic promotion to the Premier League.

He recalled: "A lot of the boys remember that game and the one at Cardiff, because losing those two probably cost us promotion.

"That's something which will be in our minds on Tuesday night."

City boss Johnson is contemplating changes to his starting line-up in the wake of Saturday's setback at Molineux.

Right-back Bradley Orr and goalkeeper Adriano Basso are pushing for recalls, but striker Steve Brooker and centre-back Jamie McCombe are still sidelined by injury.