Peterborough United manager delighted and relieved as his side take high-flying Wycombe apart

It was a first win in seven matches for Posh who had scored just one goal in their previous six games. The win moved Posh up two places to eighth and they are just one point off the play-off places having played more games than all their immediate rivals.

Posh were helped by a controversial refereeing decision as visiting defender Giles Phillips was sent off for pushing Sammie Szmodics in the back inside the penalty area in the 23rd minute. Ivan Toney scored the first of his two goals from the penalty spot and Posh cruised home from then on.

Toney claimed a second goal with Siriki Dembele, who started the game as a striker, and Jack Taylor also on target. It was Taylor’s first goal for Posh following his £500k transfer from Barnet earlier this month.

“The players needed this win.” Ferguson, who dumped the midfield diamond an played with three centre-backs and wing-backs, stated. “And so did I and so did the fans. We needed it for our confidence as well as to get us back up the table.

“And I was delighted how we went about it. The intensity was good, the tempo was good, in fact everything we worked on the players did very well. The stats on our running and workrate in the first 15 minutes were impressive.

“Of course we had a break with the early red card, but you could argue we were due one. We did get a little sloppy and anxious before we scored the second goal, but we played with freedom and confidence in the second-half and we could have scored more goals.

“We worked on getting the ball wide and getting crosses into the box. We worked on getting Ivan Toney on the ball as often as possible because he is a real handful at this level and that’s how we scored the first goal.

“It was a good night for us and I am delighted for the players as they’ve had a tough time lately. The two strikers scored, Siriki Dembele looked fresh and full of running and Jack Taylor and Reece Brown controlled things in midfield.

“Siriki and Jack’s goals were high quality. That won’t be the last goal Jack scores as he’s very composed from 20 yards out.

“Wycombe are very hard to play against. They have worked wonders to be where they are so this is an excellent result.

“We will need to step up again when we play the leaders on Saturday, but we can go into that game full of confidence now.”

On-loan Leicester player Josh Knight will be available for the visit of League One leaders Rotherham United on Saturday (January 25).