Peterborough United boss on 'a work in progress' and making changes for a Carabao Cup tie at Oxford United

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Peterborough United manager Darren Ferguson admits his new-look team is ‘a work in progress,’ but that won’t be used as an excuse for not winning matches.

Posh lost four star men before the start of this season and were forced to build an entirely new defence. Teething problems were obvious during the 2-0 home defeat at the hands of Huddersfield Town in Saturday’s League One opener, but Ferguson also saw stuff that pleased him.

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He will now pick a strong team to travel to Oxford United for Tuesday’s first round Carabao Cup tie (7.45pm kick off). There will be changes, but they will not be made to give any players a rest at this early stage of the season.

Posh can gain a small measure of revenge on Oxford who beat them in a League One play-off semi-final last season before winning promotion to the Championship. They started life in the second tier with an impressive 2-0 win over Norwich City at the Kassam Stadium on Saturday.

Sam Curtis in action for Posh against Huddersfield Town. Photo Joe Dent/theposh.comSam Curtis in action for Posh against Huddersfield Town. Photo Joe Dent/theposh.com
Sam Curtis in action for Posh against Huddersfield Town. Photo Joe Dent/theposh.com

"I will pick what I believe is the strongest team for this game,” Ferguson said. “There will be some changes, but not a huge amount. Some players, like Sam Curtis and Jack Sparkes, need 90 minutes under their belts.

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"We went through the good and bad of Saturday’s game on Sunday. There were some good moments and we had control of the game, and looked the better side, when we missed two good chances at 0-0. We then promptly concede, gave up another goal on the stroke of half-time and in the second-half we didn’t get things right at all against a very aggressive side.

"It will take time for some players to adapt to, and understand, the way we play. It was the same last season and we didn’t really start to flow until October. They will get the same consistent message from us. We are a work in progress, but we are aware of the need to win games as well.

"Obviously it’s a tough tie for us. Oxford haven’t changed formation-wise compared to last season, but they have signed some new players and they delivered a fantastic performance and result on Saturday so they will be full of confidence. We will certainly have to play to a good level to give them a game and I am confident we will.”

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New Posh left-back Jack Sparkes. Photo Joe Dent/theposh.com.New Posh left-back Jack Sparkes. Photo Joe Dent/theposh.com.
New Posh left-back Jack Sparkes. Photo Joe Dent/theposh.com.

New captain Hector Kyprianou will again be on the sidelines with a knee injury.

If the scores are level at the end of 90 minutes the tie will be decided by a penalty shootout. Posh won the first two rounds on penalties last season before bowing out in the third round at Mansfield Town, also on penalties.

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