EX-Peterborough United defender on the manager who wanted him out of London Road, the player with a head like a brick, his love of the Posh mavericks, a chairman telling him to show some ‘balls’ and that glorious May day at Old Trafford

Here is classy centre-back Ryan Bennett describing the tortuous 24 hours which eventually led to him signing, his relationship with Gaby Zakuani, the most talented Posh teammates, his belief in Darren Ferguson and that unforgettable League One play-off final at Old Trafford in 2011.

RYAN BENNETT

Signed: October 2009 (loan), January 2010 (permanent).

Fee: £500k from Grimsby

Apps: 100

Goals: 7

Sold: £3 million to Norwich, March, 2012.

On signing for Posh...

“I didn’t make it through the Ipswich Academy so I moved to Grimsby. Mike Newell was the manager and he and the club looked after me, made me captain at 17.

“There had been talk about Peterborough’s interest in me, but nothing happened at first.

“Once at a corner I was playing against Guy Branston and he just said to me ‘I’ve been speaking to Barry Fry about you’ which was strange! He seemed to know more about stuff than I did.

“Anyway one night about 10.30pm I received a text from a friend who worked for Grimsby which said things might happen in the morning.

“Sure enough the next morning I was told the club wanted to see me in the office at the stadium and they told me they’d accepted a bid from Peterborough and they wanted me to go. Well the chairman did, but the manager didn’t.

“I was told to drive down there that day. Peterborough wanted me to train with them that afternoon.

“It all felt a bit weird. I was in my Grimsby training kit, I had no agent, but off I went and all the way down there they were ringing me asking where I was.

“My head was all over the place when I got down there. I knew Peterborough were getting a good reputation for playing young players and they were in the Championship.

“But I had no experience of any of this.

“Barry came bounding down the stairs to meet me at reception all loud and crazy and he took me upstairs and offered me a contract which worked out about £100 per week more than I was on.

“I told Barry it wasn’t what I was expecting. Grimsby were subsidising payments on my house up there so I would have effectively been worse off so I wouldn’t sign.

“Barry got the chairman on the phone and he told me I should show some balls and sign the contract. He told me he was 32 and had a lot of money because he made ballsy decisions. He told me this was a great opportunity and if I didn’t want it then it was my problem.

“The chairman told me I would be in the side on Saturday which I knew wasn’t true as the manager had already told me I wouldn’t be!

“So I didn’t side and headed back up to Grimsby, but later that night Darren Ferguson rang me and said he would sort stuff out so I should come back in the morning.

“I went back down and Barry had the same contract and a pen and asked me to sign, but I wouldn’t.

“The manager then intervened and eventually Barry took over the loan I had from Grismby so I had to pay him back instead!

“So I signed on loan and in January the deal was made permament.”

On Gaby Zakuani...

“I progressed quickly at Posh and a lot of that was down to playing alongside Gabs.

“He would take care of a lot of things without people realising. The qualities he had were the qualities I didn’t have at the time.

“Gabs wasn’t the biggest, but he was tough. His head was like a brick. He must have disheartened 75% of the players who played against him. Their heads would hurt and the backs of their legs would hurt.

“Our relationship was brilliant. I’d go on the pitch with great confidence because if the ball went past me I knew Gabs would be there to clear things up.

“I also enjoyed playing with Craig Alcock and Russ Martin.”

On talented Posh teammates...

“We had some great players. Craig Mackail-Smith and Aaron Mclean were a frightening pair and Grant McCann would put the ball wherever he wanted to.

“George Boyd was class and Tommy Rowe was very underrated, but for sheer talent Lee Tomlin and Paul Taylor stood out.

“I played against Taylor one pre-season when he was with a Belgian team and I was at Grimsby. He was short and balding and didn’t look like a footballer, but after 45 minutes playing against him I though ‘whoa’ who is this kid?

“When he turned up at Posh he looked so unco-ordinated just walking around the dressing room, but I told the lads to watch him as he could really play.

“Posh saw the best of him that season and he earned a good move, but he had off-field issues which held him back. Properly managed he could have been a top player.

“Before he signed Tomlin would come in and train with us and then disappear and then come back again.

“He didn’t look quick or strong, but believe me he was both and he could play. I’m so pleased he’s doing well at Cardiff again. He’s been a very misunderstood person.”

On Posh managers...

“Darren Ferguson leaving so soon after I signed did me no favours. I ended up playing for managers I did get on with and some I didn’t, but that’s football.

“It was no secret Gary Johnson didn’t want me at the club, but when Darren came back it all came good again.

“Darren understood players in a way that Johnson and Jim Gannon didn’t. He knew how to talk to everyone from experienced pros like McCann or younger ones like me.

“I honestly believe he could have been a top manager if he had the tools that less able managers have been given.”

On the 2011 League One play-off final...

“Seeing Jordan Rhodes wasn’t on the Huddersfield teamsheet was a shock as we had prepared as though he was playing. He was flying at the time.

“There was always needle when we played Huddersfield and when we saw they had stuff all over their fans’ seats that spurred us on. It looked like they had forgotten all about us and were planning a party.

“For the first 25 minutes I felt we were in for a long day as we struggled, but it turned out to be a fantastic end to the season.

“The manager and coaches deserved a lot of the credit. They managed the last month of the regular season by resting players at certain times and made sure we were at our physical peak in time for the play-offs.”