Darren Ferguson admits he is 'not getting enough out' of his Peterborough United players after yet another defeat on the road

Posh fell to their sixth consecutive away defeat in League One on Friday night as they went down 2-1 at Stockport County. Joel Randall had pulled Posh level in the first half, but then missed a sitter in the second-half that would have put his side ahead. Punishment duly arrived in the 72nd minute when Stockport sealed victory with a poorly defended winning goal.

Posh have picked up just seven points away from home this season. Only four teams have picked up fewer points on their travels. Posh remain 13th ahead of the Saturday fixtures, but could drop to 18th if all the results go against them.

Ferguson had some choice words for his players – he felt centre-backs Oscar Wallin and Emmanuel Fernandez and Oscar Wallin could both have been sent off – but he also took responsibility for the recent run of poor form. Posh have lost six of their last nine League One games.

Ferguson said: “We’ve got into a bad habit of losing games and have lost too many. It’s a mentality that we have to change quickly. The game was there for the taking as they did not threaten as much in the second half and we had a big moment in the second half when Joel could have just stuck the ball in the net. it was an open goal. Those kind of moments are not going for us.

“There was nothing in the game at that point but we have a habit of finding ways to lose games of football we should not be losing. In a game that tight, getting the next goal at 1-1 would make a big difference and we had a massive opportunity,

“We have come away again thinking, did we deserve to lose it? Probably not. Did we deserve to win it? I’m not too sure. We have managed to lose the game though and that is becoming a bad habit.

“We did not do enough to stop the ball coming into the box for the second goal and the first goal is a real mess. I don’t see us scoring many goals like that, when it is so easy.

"They are soft goals and a lot of the goals we are losing come from wide areas. We have looked at it and done some work on it, but it doesn’t seem to be sinking in.

“I’ve been in this game long enough to know I’m not getting enough out of them. We’re clearly not as talented a group as last season - we weren’t going to be - but I’m still not getting enough out of them and that’s my responsibility. I’ve got to find a way and keep persevering with them.

“Both of my centre halves were lucky. Oscar could have been sent off, I was about to bring him off after about 20 minutes, but the game settled down a bit and I thought we could get him through until half time.

“Then Manny, we’ve seen it many times this season and I don’t know what he’s doing. He should have been sent off as he was the last man. I don’t know why we do what we do. He was doing things we have a habit of doing a lot and I have to look it and think, if it keeps happening, I’m going to have to do something about it.

“It’s a very challenging time in terms of consistency and I’ve got to find a way and I’m still confident I will. I’m not saying I’m confident we will find a way to get us into the position we want to be, but certainly we will do better than what we’re doing at the moment.

“You always try to find some positives. We knew it would be a tough game, they are a good team, especially at home, but it was a game where if we were on a better run of form away from home then we could have really gone and taken the game by the scruff of the neck.

“In the second half, it was a very tight affair I felt we could go on and win but that moment with Joel was really pivotal. There’s been some moments in games they have been really pivotal moments in games this season that have transpired against us. We just can’t find any consistency in results and that’s why we are where we are."

Posh return to action on Boxing Day when they host Mansfield Town, a side winless in seven going into Saturday’s match at home to Rotherham.