Chairman promises Peterborough United will be a force to be reckoned with again soon, but deal for experienced centre-back has fallen through
Chairman Darragh MacAnthony insists Peterborough United will be ‘a different animal’ by the time the summer transfer window closes.
He’s even prepared to back his judgement by putting his chairmanship of the club reputation on the line.
But MacAnthony has admitted the expected signing of an experienced centre-back – believed to be Tom Lees – has been de-railed by a medical examination. Posh want an experienced man to replace injured skipper Sam Hughes.
MacAnthony, speaking on the latest edition of his ‘Hard Truth’ podcast, also insists the club’s summer transfer plans have not been altered by a poor start to the season.
Posh added to their squad on Thursday with the arrival of New Zealand international midfielder Matt Garbett.
"We do need to sort the centre-back situation out,” MacAnthony admitted. "We want someone experienced in there to replace Sam Hughes and we thought we had sorted it, but it’s now a no-no because of the medical situation.
"The rest of our transfer plans have not changed. We have had Matt Garbett in the works for a few weeks and we are delighted to get him as Championship clubs were interested. Getting Matt is a real coup.
"Klaidi Lolos is here because our manager has always loved him and we have always known we would probably need another left winger as Kyrell Lisbie is a project.
“We will be a different animal by the time the transfer window closes and I’ll put my chairmanship of the club on the line about that.
“We have lost two of the hardest games in League One, but we were in both games. We are not creating scoring chances, but then neither is the opposition. This might sound harsh, but if Alex Bass had been in goal in those two games we wouldn’t have lost either of them. We knew it would take time to get the forwards up to speed.
"We quickly lost my first 3 signings of the season. We lost the best goalkeeper I’ve signed in 20 years, my captain and Declan Frith.
"I’m an angry man, but certainly not a defeated man, but I know Darren Ferguson will fix this. I have a strong management staff and good players already in the building. The players will be feeling the pressure. They will be hurting, but help is coming. They have not been getting battered anyway, but we’ve been beating ourselves. We need to get out of our own way, but we will be strong again.”