New Peterborough United defender hails 'Big Sam' and is confident results will begin to turn

After being cup tied for the last two matches, Johnston made his home debut for Posh in Saturday’s 0-0 draw with Leyton Orient and was joined by debutants in the backline Sam Hughes and Tayo Edun.

The three were amongst the best performers for Posh and they helped the side keep their first league clean sheet of the season and remarkably, become the last team of the 252 in the top seven tiers of English football to achieve this feat.

Johnston has praised the influence of the new arrivals, particularly that of Sam Hughes and has insisted that improved performances such as the one against Orient will lead to an uplift in results. Posh remain in 19th in the table, five points clear of the bottom four.

Johnston said: “Getting the first clean sheet of the season is important and it gives us a platform to build from.

“In previous games, we’ve given up too many chances so the message was to go and be solid. The new lads in defence helped. Big Sam was a leader out there and a big voice, he was fantastic.

“As time goes on, we’ll only get better and we’ll learn off each other’s games more. This is a good starting point though and we’ll look to build from it.

“Going forward too, it’s not just the forwards either, it’s us at the back as well- especially in the full back areas- where we can try and get forward more to help out in the attacks.

“It’s a 0-0 though, a solid base, and if we can improve in the final third then I have no doubt we can go and win plenty of games.

“I’ve only been in two weeks but there is plenty of quality in the squad, it is there for everyone to see and they’ve proven that already with the goals they’ve scored in the league. That will click and if we can keep it right at the back, results will come.”