There are $ n$ football teams in a round-robin competition where every 2 teams meet once. The winner of each match receives 3 points while the loser receives 0 points. In the case of a draw, both teams receive 1 point each. Let $ k$ be as follows: $ 2 \leq k \leq n - 1$. At least how many points must a certain team get in the competition so as to ensure that there are at most $ k - 1$ teams whose scores are not less than that particular team's score?