Peterborough United manager explains Dembele substitution, and admits it didn’t work
Peterborough United manager Darren Ferguson has explained his reasoning for the substitution of Siriki Dembele during the heavy 4-1 defeat at the hands of Coventry City at the Weston Homes Stadium on Saturday (January 15)...but he admitted the change didn’t work.
Dembele, who had limped out of the pre-match warm-up with a tendonitis issue, was hauled off in the 59th minute in favour of Jonson Clarke-Harris with Posh only 2-1 down.
Some fans assumed Dembele was injured so they were then shocked when assistant manager Matthew Etherington revealed after the match it was a tactical move.
Dembele is the Posh top scorer this season with five goals - three of them in the final 20 minutes of matches.
Ferguson told the PT today (January 17): “I love the boy (Dembele) and he’s been more consistent than most this season. I didn’t want to take him off as he has scored late goals this season, but I couldn’t see it happening on Saturday.
“He had a recurrence of his tendonitis before the game, but that wasn’t why I took him off. His body language wasn’t good. He was getting frustrated with himself so I decided to change things. It didn’t work though.
“I have spoken to Siriki today and he’s fine. It wasn’t as though he was sulking or not trying. Things just weren’t coming off for him.”