'Incompatible' Ihionvien and Peterborough United seek to avenge a Boxing Day battering
Bradley Ihionvien was an ‘incompatible’ presence at Peterborough United according to first-team manager Darren Ferguson.
Ferguson was reluctant to expand on his weekend comments when he revealed the 21 year-old striker would be leaving London Road after just one season at Posh.
But he did add today: “It’s nothing personal. I ask for very high standards from my players and signings and sometimes it just doesn’t work out. Brad was incompatible with the club in my opinion. I explained my decision to him before I made it public and that’s all there is to it.”
Meanwhile Ferguson is confident Mansfield Town will see a much better version of his team in a rearranged League One fixture at the One Call Stadium on Wednesday night.
Ferguson accepts his team suffered a Boxing Day battering at the hands of ‘The Stags’ at the Weston Homes Stadium earlier this season. Nigel Clough’s side romped into a 3-0 half-time lead and never came under threat of a comeback.
Mansfield have struggled in recent months and start tomorrow’s game two places and three points behind Posh, but they are safe from relegation.
“Any team who comes up and stays up can say they have done their job,” Ferguson said. “Wrexham and Stockport enjoy different circumstances, but Mansfield have done well. They probably wished they’d done things the other way round rather starting well and finishing badly, but they, like us, will want to win their last two games.
"They battered us on Boxing Day. It was one of those days that sometimes happens in football as they were very good and we were very poor, but I’m confident they will see a very different team tomorrow.”
Ferguson will make a late decision on whether or not to involve departing stars Kwame Poku and Hector Kyprianou, but Ricky-Jade Jones will be in the squad.
On loan Manchester City defender Jadel Katongo remains at the club, but will not feature in the final two games of the season as Ferguson continues to run the rule over players who spent a lot of the season on the fringes of the action.
"Jadel won’t be with us next season,” Ferguson added. “He’s still training with us, but he understands the situation. He’s done for the season now as is Manny Fernandez.
"It can be difficult for players to start games when they’ve not been involved for a while, but I saw a lot of positive things on Saturday. These players are not on trial as such, but it is an opportunity to have a look at them.
"I have a decision to make with the goalkeepers as I have with a couple of other players, but Will Blackmore was very good on Saturday. He’s a very good goalkeeper with a lot of good attributes. There are things he can work on, but he’s a great kid who always trains well.”