Peterborough United goalkeeper ready to embrace the pressure of earning the club's number one shirt

Posh head into their first pre-season fixture on Saturday- away at Stamford- with 21-year-old Blackmore as the only senior keeper in the squad, following the departures of Christy Pym and Will Norris.

Posh are still expected to bring in another keeper this summer but the club has hinted that Blackmore will be given the opportunity in pre-season to prove he deserves the number one shirt.

Following the announcement of Blackmore’s new three-year deal on Wednesday, Ferguson said: “I am delighted that Will has agreed this new contract. I believe he has a lot of potential; he has a bright future ahead of him and he will definitely be challenging for the number one spot this season.

"I know that Will was pleased to agree the deal and he will play a big part in the squad for the forthcoming campaign and the seasons to come after that.”

Blackmore has made five appearances for Posh so far, including a three-game spell between December and January that saw a draw, win and a loss against Charlton, MK and Wycombe respectively. Blackmore kept a clean sheet against MK and was very impressive in the 1-1 draw at Charlton on Boxing Day.

Despite no other professional experience, Blackmore believes that run has given him the confidence he can perform at the level required.

He said: “I'm really happy with the new deal. It's another major step in my career. The way Posh is at the moment, it’s a really good opportunity for me this season.

“Going into last season, I wanted to prove to myself that I can play men’s football- it’s obviously been hard not having any loans- but the little stint in the league really helped prove to myself that I can do it and hopefully it showed the fans too.

“I absolutely love the environment of playing in front of the fans, I like a little bit of pressure and thrive off it.

“We've got a great bunch of lads, chemistry off the pitch means chemistry on the pitch. I fit in and I’m quite loud, I love a bit of banter but when it’s time to work, it's time to work.

“It was good to learn from both Ali (Uzunhasanoglu, Posh’s new first-team goalkeeping coach) and Mark Tyler last year. Tyler has done so much for my career and I really appreciate that but Ali has a completely different type of training. I’m really enjoying it

“There’s quite a lot on the line for me but I really enjoy the challenge and don’t mind the pressure at all. I’m raring to get going.”