Manager is relaxed about Peterborough United's league position and he's expecting a big bounce back to form after Blackpool defeat

Posh were so poor in the 3-1 loss at Blackpool last weekend it set some alarm bells off as far as relegation from League One is concerned. Posh slipped to 16th place and just four points above the drop zone after the Bloomfield Road defeat.

But Williams is not one of the anxious voices. He’s excited by what his players are capable of doing in home matches. Posh have recorded 6-1 and 5-0 wins at the Weston Homes Stadium in the last two months, and held promotion certainties Cardiff City to a 1-1 draw in their last London Road appearance.

Williams expects to have Tom Lees, Matty Garbett, Brandon Khela and Jacob Mendy available tomorrow. Ben Woods could also be involved.

“We didn’t compete properly at Blackpool,” Williams admitted. “We were second best in too many of the basics, but I fully expect us to bounce back and show what we can do. I am not anxious about our position. I have no fear as I know this group is capable of winning games at this level, and I am excited about playing at home again. We prefer to play at home and we have had some heavy scorelines in our favour which is the dream of supporters.

"We are getting stronger as players are coming back into the squad after injuries and they’ve been getting some important minutes into them.”

There is a possibility of Vale being relegated with a defeat at Posh. Tomorrow’s visitors will also be in the unusual position of playing their second game in three days because of a fixture pile-up.

"It must be difficult to manage playing so many games,” Williams added. “But I know they will be up for the game and won’t be feeling sorry for themselves.

"They’ve had a bizarre season with a tough league campaign accompanied by some wins over enormous teams in the FA Cup.

"We have to be ready for what is coming, but we also need to make sure we give a good performance because then we don’t need to worry so much about the opposition.

"We’ve looked a bit slow coming out of the blocks at times which is very frustrating. We’ve tried different things and we continue to search for the answers.

“We haven’t coped well lately with being put under pressure whereas earlier in the season we played through a press to good effect.

“I am happy for the players to kick for territory when necessary, but we have struggled to win first and second balls when we try that.

“We have to pick a lane and double down on being good at one thing. All the team changes haven’t helped. What suited one combination of players hasn’t suited another set.”