Peterborough United chairman believes his side can become a frightening force at League One level again after Wembley triumph

MacAnthony described Sunday’s 2-0 win over Birmingham City in the Vertu Trophy Final as ‘a beautiful moment in a s*** season’ on the latest edition of his ‘Hard Truth’ podcast.

But he insisted the quality of the performance by a young side against the League One champions makes Posh a frightening prospect for opponents in the next couple of seasons.

MacAnthony is confident a steady stream of talent from the Posh Academy will be a big factor in forthcoming seasons. He was proud to see four Academy graduates start at Wembley. The chairman includes former under 21 player Emmanuel Fernandez as an Academy player, as well as Ricky-Jade Jones, Harley Mills and James Dornelly who made a longer progression from an earlier age through the Posh ranks.

MacAnthony said: “The Academy is a massive part of our club. They got us through to a final and now they have helped us win the final. I’m proud we had four Academy graduates in our starting line-up at Wembley. We now need to nourish and harness our potential. Talent is talent no matter the size of your club and we have enough to match anyone in League One. I reckon we will be a frightening force to be reckoned with in the next couple of seasons.

"Playing like we did against a team as good as Birmingham City should give us all confidence. We showed how good we are. Okay you could say where has that level been for most of the season? But there have been mitigating circumstances with all the injuries.

"Winning at Wembley again was a beautiful moment in a s*** season, especially given the standard of opposition. To take out Wrexham, the second best team in League One, away from home and then to beat the best team in the division in the final means there was nothing lucky about our success. It’s a deserved win and, after winning it last season as well, we will be going for a ‘three-peat’ next season.

"We’ve actually won this final three times in 11 seasons which is not bad for a club of our size. You will always remember days like these. Now I want us to win the last five League One games to take momentum into the summer and into next season.

"We already have our pre-season sorted at St George’s Park. We know what we have to fix for next season and who we need to recruit.”

MacAnthony insists he was confident about victory before kick off against Birmingham and he was relaxed during the match as Posh won 2-0 with first-half goals from Mills and captain Hector Kyprianou.

"It was simply a great day, especially as no-one gave us a chance beforehand,” MacAnthony added. “Even are own fans were probably quietly pessimistic after we got tanked at home by Northampton eight days earlier. The manager gave me confidence as he was super-confident himself. That mindset obviously transferred to the players as every one of them was superb.

"We were 4-1 to win the game before kick-off which is apparently the longest odds for a team in this final. I felt that was disrespectful as we are no mugs. I believed if our defence performed to an 8/10 level we would win as we knew we had the forwards to cause them problems. The defence was even better than that and at half-time I was very confident as I felt the game would open up for us which it did.

“Our shape, discipline and outlet passes were outstanding and do it in that cauldron of an atmosphere was a credit to the players and staff. It was just a great, great day capped for me by being able to take the trophy home again.

"This is our FA Cup and we made history by winning it again. I’m so chuffed for everyone at the club and for the fans who have stuck with us through all the bad stuff.

"I’ve also seen a lot of love from elsewhere on football. Three Premier League club owners messaged me. What a day, just wow!”

Posh are 16th in League One ahead of the Easter weekend fixtures and still need decent results to be sure of safety.