Out of favour Peterborough United midfielder Jorge Grant 'unlucky' with form of others says boss Grant McCann

Grant has only started two games since McCann arrived at the club at the end of February. He played 90 minutes against Manchester City and then started the following match at Huddersfield, only to be taken off at half time with Posh trailing 2-0.

A 29-minute substitute appearance against Middlesbrough has been his only action since in the nine matches since then.

The 27-year-old arrived in the summer from Lincoln, for an undisclosed fee, having been voted into League One’s Team of the Season on the strength of his performances and was expected to be a key performer for Posh this season. McCann has also suggested that Grant was one of a number of current Posh players that he was looking to sign in the summer when he was in charge of Hull.

It has not worked out that way this season though as Grant has appeared in only 25 (21 starts) of the 43 league matches this season. He dropped out of the squad against Barnsley on Monday (April 18) but McCann confirmed afterwards that this was due to injury. He trained on Thursday (April 21) and is now expected to return to the squad for the weekend’s visit of his former club Nottingham Forest.

McCann insists though that the club did do well to sign the midfielder but that he has been unlucky with the form of other players.

He said: “I think what Jorge needs is a run of games. He is unlucky that Jack Taylor, Jeando Fuchs, Kwame Poku and Sammie Szmodics are all in good form.

“That’s just the nature of football, when people are in good form you have to bide your time and wait.

“Everyone knows Jorge is a good player and it was a good signing from Peterborough in the summer but I can only speak about my time here but in that time the players I’ve just mentioned and Ollie Norburn have played well and that’s just been unfortunate for Jorge.

“I see him as someone that is equally comfortable anywhere in the midfield, either as a number 6, 8 or 10.”

Grant will be hoping to return to the side against Forest given that he is a product of the club’s youth academy. He mostly spent his time contracted to the club out on loan though, twice to Notts County and then to Luton and Mansfield. He played 17 Championship matches for Forest, over three different seasons, but only six from the start before leaving to join Lincoln in 2019.