LATEST NEWS: Chesterfield are more important than Chelsea

Posh full back Andrew Hughes is about to see his cross blocked by a Notts County hand. Photo: David Lowndes.

A potential third round FA Cup tie at Stamford Bridge will not be a distraction for a Posh squad determined to win six League One points before they tackle Notts County in a second round replay at the ABAX Stadium on December 20 for the right to take on the Premier League leaders.

Left-back Andrew Hughes, one of the Posh success stories this season, insists the team’s focus is all on beating Chesterfield at the ABAX this Saturday (December 10) before attention switches to a tough game at the Valley against Charlton the following weekend (December 17).

A task that has been made tougher by another injury setback for in-form central defender Jack Baldwin who could be out for two months after undergoing a knee operation.

Posh full-back Andrew Hughes in action at Notts County. Photo: David Lowndes.

Hughes, a sumer signing from Newport County, said: “Of course Chelsea is a big incentive for us to beat Notts County and at home I’m sure we will finish the job.

“But that’s for another day. Our priority right now is beating Chesterfield on Saturday and then will be on beating Charlton.

“League One is so tight it’s important we keep picking up points and winning our home matches will be vital so it’s a big game for us on Saturday and that’s all the players are talking about.

“I’m happy with how I’ve been playing. I settled in really quickly and I’m enjoying my football. It’s the first time I’ve moved away from hom and it’s done me the world of good.

Jack Baldwin will be a big loss for Peterborough United.

“We’ve done well as a back four so Jack Baldwin will be a big miss for us, but we have strength in depth so we should cope.

“We’ve had to dig in as a defence this season and we’ve usually done it well. Winning that game at Bristol Rovers recently proved to us that we can win games when we have to defend a lot.

“We defended well at Notts County as well, but we should really have won that game. We battered them for 35 minutes and should have been out of sight before we had a man sent off.

“We also should have had a last minute penalty when my cross was clearly stopped by a defender’s hand, but the way the officials were performing we were never going to get a decision like that go our way.”

Posh striker Lee Angol was sent off at County. He will miss the replay and the games against Chesterfield and Charlton as he’d been handed a three-match suspension.