Double training sessions have set Peterborough United up for a mountainous task at Ipswich Town

On the face of it Posh, who have lost their last three League One games, have a mountainous task against a team who have lost just twice all season and sit second in the table.

But McCann, who has worked his players hard in training this week, doesn’t see it like that.

"It’s a good game for us,” McCann insisted. “It's a great stadium, a big club and it will be a great atmosphere. It’s definitely a game to look forward to.

"Obviously we will need to be better than we have been in the last three League games, but if we get back to doing what we are good at we have a chance.

"We’ve had double training sessions this week as I felt we’ve slipped away from our principles, from our way of playing.

"My teams have always played on the front foot at a good tempo and that’s what I expect from us so it’s been drilled into the players this week. We’ve used repetition to get the message home and the lads have responded well.

"I know people say training sessions don’t matter, but they do. They are important to me.

"It’s a tight league. Only Barnsley of the top six won last week. If we can win five or six in a row we will be right back in the thick of things and that can happen over Christmas and New Year.

"There are a lot of games, It’s an important time.”

After the Ipswich match, Posh host Shrewsbury on December 17 before embarking on the busy festive programme with League One matches at Charlton (Boxing Day) and at home to MK Dons (December 29) and Wycombe Wanderers (January 1).

Posh won 1-0 at Ipswich with an own goal on their last visit in 2021 and 4-1 the season before that as Ivan Toney, Siriki Dembele and Sammie Szmodics ran riot.