'If the worst happens, people will lose their jobs' - Peterborough United boss issues stark warning to his players following Bristol Rovers defeat

Such was the disappointment at Posh’s 3-1 defeat at Bristol Rovers on Sunday, Ferguson issued a stark ultimatum to his players that people’s livelihoods were at stake and that jobs would be lost if they were to be relegated from League One.

Fears of the drop were heightened by a terrible display at the Memorial Stadium which resulted in a ninth away defeat in 11 matches. The other two games were draws.

Things could have been different for Posh had Gustav Lindgren not missed a sitter, presented to him by a loose backpass, at 0-0 but James Wilson, Isaac Hutchinson and Ruel Sotiriou were all allowed to score before a consolation goal by Ricky-Jade Jones in the 91st minute.

Posh are just five points clear of Burton Albion, who occupy the final place in the relegation zone.

Ferguson, who went over to apologise to the 444 travelling fans at full-time, said: “The only thing our players should think about now is winning games of football. There should be nothing else in their lives.

"We are in a real fight to stay in the league. We are going to be affecting people’s livelihoods. We are talking serious things. This club cannot afford to be in League Two.

“If the worst case happens, people will lose their jobs. That is where we find ourselves. The only thing the players should be interested in is how we are going to win games of football. At the moment, I don’t think I’m seeing enough of that.

“Clearly, the table does not lie. After 30 games, we have not been good enough. We are miles away. To be where we are is not acceptable. At the moment, none of us are doing the job to the level we expected.

“I have to make sure it (relegation) doesn’t happen. That is my remit until the end of the season. I don’t think it will happen. I think we will have enough but we need to show more than what we are at the minute.

“We were not good enough away from home again, it’s as simple as that. It was a very winnable match but we’ve conceded three poor goals. We’ve conceded from another set piece. It was so easy and we don’t get goals like that. We are so easy to score against, it is so disappointing.

“We’ll get criticised for conceding goals, but the forward play - apart from Conn-Clarke - was non-existent. Gustav has to score. That typified the lack of quality in the performance. It was just a lack of quality or the final decision. Nine times out of 10 he scores, but I think he’s rushed it.

“We tried to change it at half time to get a bit more quality, but we didn’t get it. We had so many good opportunities as we nicked the ball off them quite a few times in the first half. Conn-Clarke was good but the rest were nowhere near what we need.

“I went to apologise to the fans after the game. It was the least they deserved. They are, quite rightly, not happy. They are spending their money and they aren’t seeing something anywhere near good enough. They obviously criticised me and the team, which you would expect. You have to take that on the chin, we are not going to be getting plaudits at the moment.

“I had no hesitation in picking the same team, but we have to turn this away form around. We can’t rely just on the home form. We’ve only got seven homes games left and our next three are away.”

Posh are at home to Cheltenham in the EFL Trophy quarter final on Wednesday (7pm) and then have a weekend off due to Birmingham’s continued participation in the FA Cup. They return to League One action away at Charlton on February 11.