Check out the League One table before calling for drastic changes and talking points from Peterborough United's FA Cup defeat at Shrewsbury

There were only 234 Posh fans present at Saturday’s 3-1 FA Cup second round defeat at Shrewsbury so instead of asking for a comment on the game this newspaper asked what positions supporters would like to see strengthened in the January transfer window.

That wasn’t enough for the Twitterati who pounced to call for a change of manager, assistant boss and chairman, while also asking the club’s ownership to fund a double figure number of new year new signings.

Everyone’s entitled to an opinion of course, but how representative of the full Posh fanbase these people are is anyone’s guess. Fans who attend matches have generally been supportive.

Those who want change might care to look at the League One table – the only true barometer for success – and ask how realistic and fair they are being.

Posh are fourth behind two huge clubs for the level and a Plymouth side who have taken many by surprise with their sustained excellence. Posh are above other big hitters in Bolton and Derby County while rarely reaching top form.

There will be a time to cast judgement on those who make the important decisions, but that time isn’t now.

Posh fans demand change

OTHER POSH TALKING POINTS...

1) Posh have already shown they can embark on mini-runs of good form, but they need to do improve on their best run of results which is currently three League One wins in a row. December would be a decent place to start as they take on promotion rivals Barnsley and Ipswich Town in their first two games of the month. Win those – a tall order on current form I know – and that would set up the rest of the month with games against modest opponents Shrewsbury, Charlton and MK Dons to follow. There are no distractions now following the departure from two knockout competitions in a handful of days, one happy consequence of which will be the absence of fixture congestion. Excuses will be thin on the ground so it’s time to deliver.

2) For that to happen the senior players in this Posh squad must step up. Dan Butler, Frankie Kent, Jack Taylor, Joe Ward, Nathan Thompson and Jonson Clarke-Harris were all key men when Posh won promotion from League One two seasons ago and yet only the skipper has matched the personal standards of that campaign, although Ward has been hampered by injury. Of that six who played at Shrewsbury only Clarke-Harris impressed and even he didn’t have his shooting boots on. Butler, Kent and Thompson were part of another shaky defensive display, while Taylor was very sloppy at times.

3) Posh improved markedly at Shrewsbury in the second-half after boss Grant McCann drifted away from his preferred 4-3-3 formation. They played extremely well for the first 20 minutes after the break when their movement and quality was too much for a massed Shrewsbury defence. It’s no exaggeration to say they could have recovered a two-goal deficit and been in front before the hour mark with more composed finishing with main men Jonson Clarke-Harris and Jack Marriott among the culprits. The problem for those of us who believe two former League One golden boot winners should always be in the starting line-up is Marriott’s form. He’s not playing well despite plenty of effort. It will be interesting to see what system McCann starts with in the crucial home game with Barnsley next Friday. This writer hopes he sticks with the second-half team and strategy. The potential, if not the finishing, was there to see in that second-half period.

4) To answer the PT’s own post-match question. A left-sided central defender is a must for me in January and in an ideal world a new pair of full-backs as well. The attacking quality is there for a top-six finish. It just needs unlocking.