Peterborough United boss delivered a rallying call rather than criticism after his side's unfortunate big-game defeat

Posh lost the basement battle against Blackpool 2-1, a harsh scoreline given the domination shown by Ferguson’s side. They fired 27 shots on goal during the game, although too few tested visiting goalkeeper Bailey Peacock-Farrell.

Posh have now returned to the bottom of the table and are five points from safety, but Ferguson praised his players for the way they adapted to a different, more attacking formation and for their attitude.

Posh fell behind to an unfortunate own goal, buit equalised before the break before falling to a fine winning goal from Scott Banks.

"We were very good in parts,” Ferguson said. “Obviously three wins in 13 games is nowhere near good enough, but I can’t be critical of the players. The things we worked on, the energy, the tempo and the aggressive pressing off the ball were all there. Obviously there are other things we need to work on, but I saw a team having a real go.

"If we deliver that sort of performance, with the shots on goal, the entries into the final third and the general domination, we will win plenty of games, but we can’t now feel sorry for ourselves. We have to pull together and stay together. I will support them in that.

"One thing I’ve noticed in the games we have lost when we should have won is the lack of ruthlessness in front of goal. We lost this game to a moment of quality, although it was also a pretty basic defensive error by allowing a left footed player to come inside on his favoured foot. It was a good finish though and we need something like that. It’s one reason why we are in our position.

"Much of what we did was very good. We were too predictable in the way we attacked at Burton last week so we played through the lines more and we did it well. Kyrell Lisbie was a threat and JJ Morgan was outstanding in a different position.

"The stats suggested we should have won and they will have gone home knowing they were lucky, but stats don’t get you points or wins and in our position we have to take advantage of games like this. We had them by the scruff of the neck. The response to falling behind in the first-half was very good and we didn’t want half-time to come, but for the domination we enjoyed we didn’t create enough clear-cut chances.”

Four Posh players limped out of the game. All will be assessed on Monday, but George Nevett’s ankle was very swollen very quickly so he is a big concern, while JJ Morgan was in a lot pain when he departed. Goalscorer Matt Garbett also took a knock, while Kyrell Lisbie cramped up.