Peterborough United face the first of two must-win games against Bristol Rovers admits Darren Ferguson

Saturday’s visit of Bristol Rovers in a must-win game, Darren Ferguson has admitted.

Posh go into the match two points behind both Bolton and Derby in fifth and sixth respectively and can either end the day in the play-off places or mathematically eliminated from the race.

Bolton host Fleetwood, while Derby are also at home against Portsmouth.

Darren Ferguson said: “The focus has to be getting the correct level of performance but it is a must-win game. We have to win our last two because of the situation we’re in but I’m confident I will get a reaction from Saturday.

"My job now is to focus on the positives with the players and if we get a win on Saturday then we take it to the last game and if somebody had said that to me when I came back, I would have taken that.

“It was a really tough challenge but since working with the players, I have really enjoyed it and hopefully we can get that performance to push it to the last game.

"The players deserve credit for getting it to this stage, we now need to get it to the last game and then get into the play-offs.”

Posh face a Bristol Rovers side that have lost their last three games, including a 2-0 defeat at Port Vale without having a shot on target last Saturday.

On Tuesday night, Rovers were beaten 2-0 by Plymouth and had midfielder Anthony Evans sent off for two yellow cards in the opening 26 minutes. He will be suspended against Posh.

Ex-Posh man Paul Coutts has been out since February and will still not be fit to to face his former side.

Despite the fact that Rovers sit in 15th with nothing to play for, the Posh boss is not taking the result for granted.

He added: “They’re a really dangerous opponent. It will be a tough game, their forwards are very good. They’ve got Collins, Josh Coburn, Ryan Loft, I’ve worked with John Marquis before, they’ve got a strong midfield and they’re a good footballing team.

“This is not an easy game but if we get to the level of performance that I know we can, and we have already shown, then that gives us the best chance of winning the game.”

A win is the only way Posh can guarantee taking the play-off fight down to the final day of the season.

Ricky-Jade Jones is expected to be fit and could return to the squad if selected.