Last season's Cambridgeshire Derby defeat will have no bearing on this year, insists Peterborough United boss

Posh were beaten 2-0 at the Abbey Stadium last April in what was their first defeat to their fierce rivals since April 1998, a run of ten matches.

Posh did, however, win the home leg in October 1-0 thanks to a Lloyd Jones own goal and have not lost to Cambridge in a home league match April 21, 1990.

Posh have not quite sold out all of their tickets but a crowd of well over 11,000 is expected at London Road.

Ahead of the clash, that has been moved forward to 12pm on police advice, Ferguson said: “Last season is gone now and I don’t even think about it.

"We weren’t good enough to win on the day, it’s as simple as that and has no bearing on tomorrow.

"I haven’t thought about it since leaving there at 5pm on the day.

“We still got into the play-offs- should have got to the final of course- but it didn’t have any bearing on our season.

“Mark has done an excellent job, they’re a very well organised and well structured team.

"They’re as good as I’ve seen as this level without the ball. We have to find a way of moving their shape around but it’ll be a very tough game.

They’ve got some experienced player at the back, who though are not now the quickest, they read the game very well so don’t have to run. We have to find a way of overcoming that and we’ve worked on it.

“They play as well, they’ve got some really talented boys.

“The start may be frantic, I don’t want it to be but it might be so we’ve got to control and be calm and composed in possession and as aggressive as we can be without it.

"As in every home game we will play this season, we will try and take the game of the opposition if we can.”

Former Posh hero Ryan Bennett is set to return to London Road for the first time since crossing the divide and joining Cambridge in January and signing a new one-year contract in the summer.

Posh decided against re-signing the 33-year-old in the summer due to the policy of signing younger players but Ferguson is still aware of the quality of his former man.

He added: “He’s a great lad and was fantastic for this club. He fully deserved his move and going on to play in the Premier League.

"He’s found the right team, in terms of how they play. One of their strengths is how compact they are without the ball so he doesn’t have to be running around everywhere.

"He knows how to fill spaces and where to go at the right time, he’s still a great centre half.

“Obviously, when they beat us last year, I didn’t see him afterwards because I had the hump and was off quick but I might see him tomorrow, probably before the the game rather than after!”