Peterborough United boss baffled by poor away form, but now is the perfect time to put it right.

Posh won their first two away games at Shrewsbury Town (4-1) and Exeter City (2-1), but they have picked up just two points in 10 road trips since. They came back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 at Burton Albion on New Year’s Day after claiming a rather fortuitous 2-2 draw at Leyton Orient In September.

It’s a terrible sequence of results which needs to end quickly as Posh now embark on a run of four consecutive away matches, starting at relegation rivals Bristol Rovers on Sunday (3pm kick off), a match that will be screened live on Sky Sports. Rovers are a place and two points behind 18th-placed Posh, albeit with a game in hand.

"We should be suited by playing away from home because of the pace we have in the side,” Ferguson stated. “We should be very good after we win the ball back and it’s now time for us to see that. We haven’t changed the way we set out to play since game one, but a lack of confidence can understandably make players do things differently, like sitting deeper and playing longer.

"We have done well at home in recent games and we need to take that mentality into away games now. We have it in us as we showed at Wrexham when we were a minute away from a clean sheet. The teams that make the fewest mistakes tend to win games and we have to hope that the confidence and belief we gained from winning on Tuesday carries into this game.

"We have to turn the away form around and there would be no better time to do it than at the home of one of the teams around us in the table. They’ve struggled as we have, but they have changed their manager and adopted a more possession-based style. They’ve lost their last two away matches, but they beat Barnsley in their last home match which is an excellent result.

"They’ve now signed Matt Butcher who is a good League One player. He knows the division inside out so it’s a tough game for us, but one we must approach with confidence.”

On-loan Manchester City defender Jadel Katongo returns to the Posh squad this weekend. Central defender Emmanuel Fernandez trained on Friday without heading the ball after missing the win over Wigan on Tuesday with a concussion. His fitness will be assessed on Saturday.

Posh also travel to Charlton, Stevenage and Huddersfield in February. A scheduled home game with Birmingham City on February 8 has been postponed because the League One leaders have FA Cup commitments meaning the only fixture at the Weston Homes Stadium this month is the Vertu Trophy quarter-final against Cheltenham Town on Wednesday, February 5, 7pm kick off).

Recent defensive signings Carl Johnston, Sam Hughes and Tayo Edun are all cup-tied from that game.