Good signs from Peterborough United and their long-distance running midfielder Mark O'Hara

Posh midfielder Mark O'Hara celebrates his debut goal against Bristol Rovers. Photo: Joe Dent/theposh.com.

O’Hara marked his competitive Posh debut with a fine headed goal from a precise Colin Daniel cross. He made it 2-0 during a dominant first-half display from Steve Evans’ men after Matt Godden had struck in the very first minute.

After the game manager Evans revealed Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers telephoned him to say O’Hara would be a great capture from Scottish Premier League side Dundee. Rodgers had apparently been tracking the 22 year-old midfielder when Posh swooped.

“It’s always nice to hear stuff like that,” O’Hara stated. “I just hope I can repay this manager for bringing me to Peterborough.

“It was a brilliant day for the club. The goal was a bonus for me as it was always about getting the three points and we did that.

“We enjoyed a great start and played well in the first-half when we showed what we were about. You could sense the expectation around the place so to score so early was ideal. We were sharp in that first-half.

“It wasn’t so good in the second-half, but the important thing was we stuck together and ground out a result. We dug the three points out which we will have to do a lot this season.

“Our targets this season are clear. We want to be in and around the promotion places and we showed some good signs. Performances will get better for sure.”

O’Hara apparently covered 14 kilometres during the game in sweltering heat, but that energy and ability to get into the penalty area suggest the goalscoring issues Posh had from central midfielders last season could be a thing of the past. Michael Doughty scored the only Posh goal by a central midfielder in League One matches last term.

“I’ve suffered injuries in each of the last two seasons and still managed six goals each time,” O’Hara added. “I always set myself a target of 10 so hopefully I can keep scoring.

“It was hard out there. League One will be as tough as I expected. I didn’t realise I’d run quite so far, but I was pretty tired at half-time.

“I wasn’t as involved as I would have liked in the second half. I will always give 100 per cent though.”