Barnsley away is the biggest game of Peterborough United manager Darren Ferguson's life

And he hopes his players see it the same way.

Posh need to win at fourth-placed Barnsley and hope Derby County lose at third-placed Sheffield Wednesday to sneak into the play-offs. A draw for the Rams would mean Posh having to win by an unlikely three goals at Oakwell to overtake them.

Posh missed the chance to catch Derby on points by drawing 0-0 at home to Bristol Rovers on Saturday.

Ferguson said: “We’ll give the players a couple of days off, then there will be a couple of days’ training and then a two-day lead-in to the game. We’ll travel on the Saturday night because it’s an early kick-off on Sunday.

“We’ve planned the week ahead and I’ve said to the players ’you’ve got to prepare for the biggest game of their lives and we have to make sure we go and win.’

“It’s the biggest game of my life. I’ve had massive games in my life, but right now, this is the biggest game of my life – and that’s how I’m treating it.

“For our players, some of them haven’t been promoted. This gives them an opportunity perhaps to get in the play-offs and be promoted for the first time and it doesn’t get any bigger than that.

“I’ve tried to get that over to them, but I don’t know if they get it – I really don’t.”

Ferguson managed Posh to a League One play-off final success against Huddersfield Town at Old Trafford – the ground where his father Sir Alex Ferguson delivered so many great memories – in May 2011.

His other three Posh promotions in 2007-08, 2008-09 and 2020-21 were sealed before the final game of the season

Ferguson junior also managed Posh to a memorable 2014 Johnstone’s Paint Trophy Final win over Chesterfield at Wembley.

Current Posh squad members Nathan Thompson, Frankie Kent, Jack Taylor, Dan Butler, Jonson Clarke-Harris and Joe Ward were part of the 2020-21 promotion-winning squad.