ALAN SWANN’s Peterborough United comment: ‘A frustrating mis-step caused by poor quality from wing-backs and set-piece incompetence and where’s the real Sammie Szmodics gone? At least Eisa provided a Posh tonic...

Unfortunately failing to win at a Burton Albion side which is the very definition of ‘ordinary’ yesterday (February 29) must count as a mis-step, especially after taking the lead.

But I wouldn’t rule Posh out yet. Superman (aka Ivan Toney) is back next week (March 7) for a huge game against Portsmouth at the Weston Homes Stadium, a venue that has yielded some impressive home results this season.

Posh have six of their remaining matches at London Road and they will start five of them as firm favourites to win. Beating Portsmouth, who have the distraction of an FA Cup tie against Arsenal tomorrow (March 2), is essential though.

Win that and seventh-placed Posh overtake a Pompey side who are currently third. The boost to confidence would also be immense and set Posh up for a winning run which could take them to the Promised Land of the Championship. They showed very recently they are unstoppable when roused and their recent form against promotion rivals, Fleetwood aside, means they shouldn’t be overly-worried about facing Pompey, Coventry or Sunderland, their three hardest remaining fixtures.

They will however have to play much better than they did at the Pirelli Stadium against a side whose only win in their last seven matches has been against a hopeless Southend outfit.

THINGS THAT CAUGHT MY EYE YESTERDAY...

1) The Posh quality levels have dipped in the last two matches, and not just because of Superman’s absence, and not just because conditions have been foul and the playing surfaces less than perfect.

If Posh persist with three centre-backs and wing-backs (and they should) the players in those five positions need to pass the ball crisply, accurately and positively, especially against poor sides who seem content to give up the ball.

Nathan Thompson aside yesterday that just didn’t happen often enough. Thompson occasionally picked out Siriki Dembele in pockets of space, but the rest of them don’t see a pass early enough. Keeping possession is fine as long as it’s done with a purpose.

And wing-back is such a crucial attacking role in this system, but Joe Ward in particular, and Dan Butler to a lesser extent, were horribly wasteful with their delivery from wide areas. Posh do get many players into the penalty area these days, but Ward couldn’t find a teammate despite having plenty of time and space. After he’d sent the second of two crosses in a matter of minutes over the crossbar Ferguson’s frustration was obvious.

2) Posh have been poor at attacking and defending corners all season according to Ferguson. Posh conceded a goal from a corner in the third minute of the first game of the season and lack a dominant figure at the back, apart from, funnily enough, their top scorer.

That failing was evident again yesterday as a Burton side who had looked impotent going forward equalised with an unchallenged John Brayford header from around the penalty area. In an instant the momentum of the game changed and Burton became as likely to score as Posh in the rest of the contest.

Set-pieces are a big part of football. Rotherham are the masters in League One, but Posh will need to be better defensively next week as Portsmouth carry a threat from a dead ball, even though former Posh defender Christian Burgess, who has scored four goals for Pompey since January 18, is suspended next weekend. That’s the sort of return Posh were expecting from Mark Beevers who has yet to score at all this season.

3) And what’s this sudden Posh interest in a long throw all about? In fact it’s generous to describe Ward’s throw as long. Yesterday he tried three or four in the early stages of a game Posh were dominating and possession in an attacking area was quickly lost.

4) Where’s the real Sammie Szmodics gone? He’s the best player in the team when Toney isn’t around, but he’s been anonymous in the last two matches. Okay the service to him hasn’t been great, but when Posh needed him to step up he instead took a step back and he was hooked yesterday when Posh were chasing a winning goal which proves how poor he was.

Szmodics doesn’t strike me as a player who lacks self-confidence, but one moment just before half-time was a real eye-opener. The on-loan Bristol City forward intercepted a poor pass 25 yards from goal, but instead of driving into the penalty area he tried to pass the ball square and a rare scoring opportunity was gone. It was a baffling moment.

“Sammie was way off his level,” Ferguson admitted. “I told him that after the game. I expected much more from him.”

5) There was some good news yesterday and that arrived with Mo Eisa’s first goal for almost three months.

He delivered the sort of clinical finish that was commonplace in the first half of the season and his general play was also much better.

Don’t expect it to be the start of a run though. Eisa is most likely to lose his place now that Toney is free of suspension.