Peterborough United desperate for the win which would transform their season

Peterborough United manager Darren Ferguson reckons one win will completely change the course of the club’s faltering League One campaign.
Lee Tomlin should return for Posh at Oxford.Lee Tomlin should return for Posh at Oxford.
Lee Tomlin should return for Posh at Oxford.

Posh are slowly losing touch with the top six after a run of three wins in 16 matches ahead of tomorrow’s trip to relegation strugglers Oxford United (February 16).

Ferguson admits confidence among the playing squad is low, but he believes three points from the match at the Kassam Stadium, no matter how they arrive, will transform Posh fortunes.

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Posh are currently four points behind sixth placed Doncaster who also have a game in hand.

Posh manager Darren Ferguson is a big fan of Matt Godden.Posh manager Darren Ferguson is a big fan of Matt Godden.
Posh manager Darren Ferguson is a big fan of Matt Godden.

“I won’t care if we win 1-0 after the scrappiest game imaginable,” Ferguson stated. “We just need to pick up three points any way we can.

“The run we are on is obviously not good enough and understandably the players are low on confidence.

“But momentum can change quickly and we’ve concentrated on the positives from the last two games even though we’ve lost them both (home to Plymouth, away to Doncaster). There were mitigating circumstances with a red card in the first-half in both games and I honestly believe we would have won them both playing 11 v 11.

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“It’s frustrating as stuff we have worked on is squashed by a player getting sent off, but we have to move on to the next game, prepare properly and keep our discipline.

“I have inherited a quiet bunch of lads, but they are a good bunch who want to learn and progress.

“We need to be more ruthless in both penalty areas. We are missing scoring chances and conceding bad goals. Last weekend the goals we conceded were poor from our point of view even though we were down to 10 men.

“We have 14 games to go and we will probably need to win more than half of them. It’s difficult to predict exactly - we went down with 54 points once - but that’s what we must aim for.

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“If we can get the level of performance right and have some luck along the way we can do it. I’ve been in this position many times and there are alaways twists and turns.

“Oxford away won’t be easy. Like most teams they have strength in certain areas and they have players we must be mindful of. No-one would have predicted they would be fighting against relegation, but we need the points as much as they do.”

Posh are still assessing the fitness of winger Joe Ward and left-back Daniel Lafferty who both trained yesterday. Left-back Tyler Denton is suspended following his red card at Doncaster.

Attacking talent Lee Tomlin is available after serving his one-match ban and there could be a recall from centre-back Ryan Tafazolli. On-loan defender Josh Knight, who Ferguson believes could play comfortably at right-back, might be given his Posh debut,

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“I have fantastic attacking talent at the club,” Ferguson added. “The problem for me is getting the balance right on the pitch.

“The front three (Marcus Maddison, George Cooper, Ivan Toney) caused Doncaster plenty of problems last weekend and we have now got Lee Tomlin fitter. I like Matt Godden as well. He is a good player with fantastic movement.”