Peterborough United boss hails the 'strong characters' in his squad after a fourth consecutive victory

Posh picked up their fourth consecutive League One victory on Boxing Day with 1-0 home win over Leyton Orient, one secured thanks to Declan Frith’s last minute header.

Posh thought they had an opportunity to hit the front earlier when they were awarded a penalty 13 minutes from time but, after consulting with an assistant, referee Abigail Byrne reversed her decision. Video evidence confirmed she was correct to do so.

The result moved Posh up to 13th in the table, with Williams’ side one of six teams tied on 28 points, including ninth placed Barnsley. The gap to the bottom four has also grown to four points.

Williams has now won six of his eight League One matches in charge of Posh after taking charge of the team when they were rock bottom.

Williams said: “It was a late goal and it’s really special to win a game like that. I’m really pleased. I admire the group because they were in a really tough spot at the bottom of the league, many points away from safety, with a hefty goal difference against them but there’s some really strong characters in the dressing room and I’m really grateful for that.

“It did start to feel like, once the penalty was overturned, that it wasn’t going to be our day, but substitutes Donay O’Brien-Brady, Gustav Lindgren and Declan and gave us a fresh energy. They had that optimism and we managed to use that to our advantage to get the goal.

“I haven’t seen it back, but the referee gave herself plenty of time to make the penalty decision and I like that she was strong enough to go and overrule it. I really respect that. I’m disappointed because I’d have love to have seen the ball hit the back of the net, from Harry Leonard probably, but it wasn’t to be.

“It was quite frustrating how sloppy we were with the ball and there was a bite missing at times in tackles. The first half performance was disjointed and clunky. We looked pretty self-assured at the back, but gave up too many openings. It was an uncomfortable performance to watch, but one we were always competitive in.”

Carl Johnston deputised at left-back in the absence of Harley Mills and Jacob Mendy, and took over the captain’s armband from Peter Kioso, who returned after being suspended for the trip to Port Vale.

Williams added: “James has done great. I was really pleased with his performance at Port Vale, but PK has been a really consistent performer for us. That decision seemed pretty sensible and Carl Johnston was outstanding against Port Vale and he deserved to play. I was really happy with his performance again today.

“PK has been captain and there's no one who has more of a captain’s nature as Tom, but we had CJ with the armband on and Alex Bass behind them is playing like a captain. It’s a pretty good backline in terms of leadership. That base is helping us to stay in games and weather storms. Those characters are very strong for this level.”

Posh are at home again on Monday (December 29) when they host Reading. Reading are level on points with Posh, but sit 11th courtesy of a superior goal difference. The Royals were 4-1 victors at strugglers Plymouth on Boxing Day after the hosts suffered an early red card.