Peterborough United boss knows improvement is needed to sustain a League One promotion push

Posh start 2023 with a New Year’s Day game against close rivals Wycombe Wanderers at the Weston Homes Stadium (3pm).

McCann’s men collected 35 points over the first half of the campaign and sit seventh, two points outside the play-off places. Wycombe are eighth, behind Posh only on goal difference.

Posh go into the game in fine fettle having won for the first time in six League One outings on Thursday, 2-0 at home to lowly MK Dons.

"We know we need to be better than we have shown in the first-half of the season,” McCann said. “At the rate we are going we will get 70 points and that won’t get us where we want to be.

"But we also know this club is capable of going on long runs in the second half of a season as we’ve done it before. Those types of run are crucial if you want promotion.

"It’s a tough start to the year for us though. I said at the start of the season Wycombe would in and around the top of the table so their recent form has not been a surprise to me.

"They have got some big players back since we last played them. They have experience throughout the side in Alfie Mawson, Josh Scowen, Lewis Wing and Sam Vokes and they’ve been on a tremendous run.

"We’re not building this game up as a six-pointer or anything like that as there are still a lot of matches to go. It’s just the next one as far as we’re concerned and we want to start a new year well, especially as it’s our last game for a while.

“We played well against MK. Our energy levels were good, some of play was very good and we should have won by more.

"It’s a toitally different test against Wycombe and we’ve prepared well with that in mind. We are proud of our home record – it’s one of the best in the division – and we want to sustain it.”

Posh could field an unchanged starting line-up although on-loan Chelsea goalkeeper Lucas Bergstrom, who received his first call-up to the senior Finland squad this week, is believed to be free of the virus that kept him out of the two Christmas fixtures.

Bergstrom call-up

Deputy ‘keeper Will Blackmore played well in his place and is expected to stay in the side, but defenders Nathan Thompson and Ben Mensah won’t be fit. Thompson should be back for the following League One game at Port Vale on Monday, January 16, a match that will be shown live on Sky Sports.

Wycombe made eight changes for their League One game at leaders Plymouth Argyle and still only lost 1-0. They’d picked up 10 points in their four previous matches including home wins over promotion challengers Portsmouth and Ipswich.