Are Peterborough United becoming victims of their own success? Manager as well as some players need to step up and KP misses PK

A squad few expected to challenge for the biggest League One honours are now in danger of becoming victims of their own success, in the eyes of some supporters at least.

The sheer quality of the football for 25 matches, and a set of results to match, delivered hope, not only of promotion this season, but also of a rare league title on the 50th anniversary of the last one.

That can be discounted now. Indeed finishing in the top two is now a massive long shot. As Posh have slumped to four defeats in a row from a February fixture menu that actually looked pretty appetising, the three biggest clubs in the division have been grinding out results remorselessly.

Fourth-placed Barnsley are also displaying impressive consistency so unless there’s an unlikely collapse in form from three teams to accompany a Posh side remembering how brilliantly they are capable of playing it’s the play-offs or nothing for Darren Ferguson’s men.

And you know what? A top six finish would still represent a strong season from a young squad. It just won’t feel like it right now as plenty of Posh excellence persuaded us all Championship football was definitely coming back.

TALKING POINTS FROM POSH 1, BLACKPOOL 2…

1) I did wonder if this defeat might tempt Ferguson to re-think the strategy for the EFL Trophy semi-final at Blackpool on Tuesday and go with his ‘strongest’ side, but he was quick to confirm during his post-match debrief he would freshen up his team for a game at Bloomfield Road with a Wembley Final at stake. The longer a losing run goes on, never mind the competition, the harder it becomes to put an end to it, but there could be no bigger boost for a struggling squad – ahead of a big derby at Cambridge United next Saturday don’t forget – than guaranteeing a match at the National stadium. Having said that there are first-team regulars who need to know their selection isn’t guaranteed. Posh chairman Darragh MacAnthony made great play of having ‘the best front four in the EFL’ back together again yesterday, but two of them, Joel Randall and Ricky-Jade Jones, are not doing much to justify their places. Randall rarely emerges from a 50-50, or even a tussle, with the ball, while Jones, whose application cannot be questioned, doesn’t yet have the natural instincts of a striker, and for a tall lad his attempts at heading the ball are disappointing.

2) This Posh team’s propensity to concede daft goals reared an ugly ahead again yesterday. Centre-back Josh Knight would probably have dealt with a hopeful hoof over the top, despite pressure from Kyle Joseph, and if he hadn’t the powerful Pool striker would still have had plenty to do as the ball bounced around the edge of the penalty area. But out came goalkeeper Jed Steer to flatten Joseph with a punch to the head to concede a penalty. It wasn’t the sort of action Posh would expect from an experienced number one – and not what Ferguson needed to see after recent goalkeeping selection controversies – and it turned the game. The confidence drained out of Posh who were the team hanging on for a point for the final 30 minutes or so.

3) This young team needs multiple promotion-winner Ferguson to step up now. It’s not been a great couple of weeks for the boss with his failure to sub Michael Olakigbe before he was sent off at Exeter, the goalkeeper confusion and the formation failure at Wycombe. Having two right-wingers on the bench yesterday seemed a strange decision and not making any changes until the 81st minute when Posh had been very poor for the previous 25 minutes was a surprise.

4) We can discuss misfortune all night long and Blackpool wouldn’t have scored a 90th-minute winning goal without a big deflection, and it probably should have been ruled out for offside anyway. But what about the penalty claim the visitors had soon after they had equalised? It looked an obvious foul by Harrison Burrows and the assistant referee gave it only to be ignored by referee Dean Whitestone. The standard of officiating has been lamentable this season and Whitestone, from Northampton, was erratic in the second-half which saw just four added minutes at the end despite multiple stoppages and substitutions. Whitestone normally operates in the Championship, but you wouldn’t have guessed it from this display.

5) The free shots Posh give up from the edge of the area in many games is troublesome. Karamoko Dembele had a couple of clear efforts from 20 yards before he scored the wiinner for Blackpool. Compare that with the other end of the pitch when opposition defenders just wait for Ephron Mason-Clark and Kwame Poku to cut inside on to their favoured foot and are on top of them to block shots. Defenders are happy for the Posh wingers to go on the outside possibly because there is no longer a reliable finisher waiting in the middle.

6) This dreadful Posh playing surface encourages long ball football and it’s noticeable how often the home defence is unsettled by a lump down the channels into the space vacated by advanced full-backs.

7) Kwame Poku clearly misses the marauding runs of Peter Kioso. Even if he didn’t pass to the on-loan right-back, he was a player who distracted defenders. New signing Vontae Daley-Campbell’s style of play notes read like Kioso’s. He could soon get his chance to shine.

8) The two bad runs of form for Posh this season have happened around transfer deadline days, although Ferguson dismissed it as a ‘coincidence’ before the Blackpool game. It most probably is, but Ronnie Edwards hasn’t been himself in the last few games, although there has been no drop off in effort.