A 10-point plan for Peterborough United to secure a League One play-off place

1) Maintain current momentum. Posh are now top of the League One current form table based on the last six matches. They have 16 points, the same as Ipswich Town, but with a superior goal difference. They’ve gained 10 points on Bolton Wanderers and nine points on Derby County in that time. Posh look like the team with all the momentum, but it only takes one poor result for things to change so…

2) Avoid complacency. The Easter Monday home game with Exeter City was too easy for 45 minutes as Posh eased into a 2-0 lead, which might well have been why they started the second-half so sloppily. Exeter scored, hit the post and had a goal disallowed before Posh found a third goal to kill the game off. Posh might not get away with such a lackadaisical approch in the games to come or with the sort of blunder that helped Exeter score so…

3) Cut out the silly errors. Goalkeeper Will Norris will rightly shoulder the blame for letting a soft shot get past him yesterday, but the ball had been given away carelessly and there was then zero pressure on Exeter’s Rekeem Harper as she shaped to shoot. More complacency led to the error, but…

4) Ipswich Town aside, Posh have the most attacking firepower in the top six. They have now scored the joint second most goals in the division (71) after the Tractor Boys. Captain Jonson Clarke-Harris has 24 of them and is five clear in the race for League One’s Golden Boot. He now has 55 goals in his last two seasons at League One level and no other player has that many in the last three seasons combined. Ephron Mason-Clark is up to eight goals this term and the Easter weekend showed he can finish with power and with subtlety. His control and lob to score against Exeter was a magnificent piece of skill in such difficult weather conditions. These two must stay fit, especially Clarke-Harris as there is no reliable replacement for him. Kabongo Tshimanga has hardly been seen in recent weeks, and...

5) Jack Taylor is the other Posh man who could not be replaced on a like-to-like basis. If Posh can get far enough ahead in a match the midfielder should be given a breather. He is absolutely vital to the club’s promotion chances as is…

6) Manager Darren Ferguson. He made a proactive formation change yesterday with Posh 2-1 in front and a third goal followed within minutes. It's now 35 points from 17 games under Fergie and he must ensure his players stay ruthless. Goal difference and even goals scored could be vital in the final reckoning so if Posh get on top of inferiors opponents they must crush them, so

7) Staying positive is crucial. Draws are no good in a division this tight. It’s worth taking the chance of losing to go all out for the win in close matches, as Ferguson did in the recent game with Oxford and that means…

8) Encourage bold play from defenders. Ronnie Edwards burst out from the back in the first-half against Exeter before he was rudely interrupted by a visiting defender 25 yards from goal. He has the skill and the vision to make runs like that more often. It could be decisive, and unexpected, when teams are sitting in low blocks as they might on Saturday when...

9) Cambridge United must be beaten. Win that and travel to another relegation haunted side Accrington Stanley on Tuesday with great confidence to, hopefully, ease the pressure before a home game with possible champions Ipswich Town, but…

10) The players shouldn’t look too far ahead. It’s easy now there are only five games to go to start looking at upcoming fixtures, but that would be an error. Don’t take your eye off the ball. If Posh pick up six points from two games against the bottom four they could well have extended their advantage over Derby, who travel to Bristol Rovers and Exeter City next, and Bolton, who are at Oxford and Burton.