To be brutally honest, you have to win this league to get out of it, playoffs are just a sham in their current format.
Aiming to reach the playoffs is just what most of the championship managers aspire to at the start if the season, which gives them some breathing space when they don't finish first.
As it has even pointed out several times, the quality of this division has fallen over the last few years - teams are so closely matched and only the best resourced ones can strengthen when & where they need. At the same time the gulf between this division and the Premier has widened quite considerably, in my opinion.