Peterborough United have emerged from transfer deadline day in decent shape, but they'll need to keep the first XI fit and available

I feel relieved. Okay there are now four goalkeepers in the squad and not a single current first-team regular who started their career as a full-back.

And not selling Jonson Clarke-Harris was a frustration as his transfer fee, and losing a big salary from the books, would have given Posh more room to wriggle with financial fair-play regulations. Some of those squad holes might then have been filled, although it’s understood the chairman worked long and hard to find a suitable right-back.

Ephron Mason-Clark will be a big miss next season no matter what division Posh are in, but he’s staying here for the current campaign and he’s not the sort to drop into cruise control. He’ll be busting a gut to get Posh up.

EMC to Coventry

No, deadline day could have been a lot worse. Ronnie Edwards, the only truly irreplaceable player in the squad in my opinion, is still here as are Hector Kyprianou and Kwame Poku and there was plenty of interest in all three. Even Clarke-Harris staying could work in Posh’s favour, especially if we need a last-gasp penalty conversion on the final day of the season to win promotion.

Posh chairman Darragh MacAnthony deserves praise. He said he would only commit to sell if the player concerned was returned to London Road straight away. He’s been true to his word. He had £2.5 million reasons to let Kyprianou leave for a Championship promotion push rather than one in League One, but the chairman stood firm.

Balancing a wish for promotion with the attractiveness of big money offers isn’t easy, especially when there are players who have earnt the right to move up the divisions. Edwards has made 122 appearances for Posh and has been linked with a dozen top-flight clubs without departing. He’s still only 20 and his time will surely come in the summer. I’m told no Posh players were angling for a move. There’s very much a sense of ‘finishing what they’ve started’ within the camp.

All the transfer deadline day news

It’s rather bizarre Posh signed three players in January and two of them were goalkeeper Jed Steer. I’m okay with Steer returning on the promise of a first-team spot, if that’s what has happened, as his calm experience will be vital when the promotion heat is turned up.

It’s a transfer window fact that fans get carried away with the arrival of players who they’ve only seen play a couple of times. Posh fans won’t have seen teenage Brentford winger Michael Olakigbe at all, but Posh don’t have a bad record in spotting talented wide players.

Mass January purchases can smack of desperation as clubs realise their summer recruitment was bad. That wasn’t the case with Posh, although the loss of Peter Kioso has hurt them, notwithstanding Jadel Katongo’s potential.

It’s also not the case with the current top two in League One, Portsmouth and Bolton Wanderers. More likely they have realised the relative weakness of this season’s League One has presented them with a great chance to return to former heights and, credit to them, they are splashing some cash to try and achieve it.

Pompey signed five new players in January and Bolton signed four in the last five days. With the exception of Nathanael Ogbeta at Bolton and Myles Peart-Harris at Pompey, I’m not sure any of the others would have been of any interest at Posh given how we play and the strength already present in some positions. But they could still work out well, for this season at least, and certainly the top two have finished with stronger squads than they had at the start of the year.

Posh have hardly changed, and a record of one defeat in 22 League One matches suggests they didn’t need to, but while the first-choice XI looks powerful, injuries/suspensions to any of the back four or the central midfielders could cause significant problems.

Transfer window signings

Top 8 in League One

Portsmouth (5): Matt Macey (unattached), Myles Peart-Harris (Brentford), Callum Lang (Portsmouth), Tom McIntyre (Reading), Owen Moxon (Carlisle)

Bolton (4): Nathanael Ogbeta (Swansea), Calvin Ramsey (Liverpool), Aaron Collins (Bristol Rovers), Caleb Taylor (West Brom).

Posh (2): Jed Steer (unattached), Michael Olakigbe (Brentford).

Derby (3): Tyreece John-Jules (Arsenal), Corey Blackett-Taylor (Charlton), Eboue Adams (Cardiff).

Barnsley (1): Josh Earl (Fleetwood).

Oxford (6): Tyler Burey (Odense), Jamie Cumming (Chelsea), Kyle Edwards (Ipswich), Will Goodwin (Cheltenham), Owen Dale (Blackpool), Jay Matate (Sunderland).

Stevenage (2): Vadaine Oliver (Bradford C), Craig MacGillivray (MK Dons).

Blackpool (3): Hayden Coulson (Middlesbrough), Ryan Finnigan (Southampton), George Byers (Blackpool).