Peterborough United manager ignoring the plight of Cambridge United ahead of derby day

​The ‘U’s’ look doomed to relegation and in dire need of a win at Blackpool on Tuesday, but Ferguson believes they will be desperate to salvage some pride from a disappointing season which also includes a 6-1 thrashing at the Weston Homes Stadium in November.

Cambridge are currently 23rd in in League One, six places and 10 points behind Posh who are far from safe from relegation themselves.

"Cambridge are not in a great position,” Ferguson stated. “But if they can win at Blackpool they know a win against us would give them a chance of staying. That’s how they will think, but we would be fools to think that, even if they lose tonight, that would make Saturday easier for us.

"There is no chance of that happening so we will have to be 100% switched on to make sure we can impose our game on them.

"They had a bit of a new manager bounce with two wins in a row, but then they lost two in a row. They’ve had some good results at home against top sides though.

"We did manage to do the double over them last season, but it was a tough game at their place. It’s always tough there. It’s a tight pitch and the crowd is right on top of you.

"They will be highly motivated for all sorts of reasons. It’s a derby they will want to win for the sake of their fans as well as themselves.

"We have to deal with all of that. We have to match their commitment and make sure we can play our football. Our fans will also play a part and I have no doubt we will get great backing.

"We are in a good place right now. We are playing well and unbeaten in our last six games. We should have picked up more points in those games, but we haven’t made the most of our opportunities which is something we do have to sort out.

Kwame Poku could start a game for the first time since December 4 at the Abbey Stadium. Cian Hayes would be the man most likely to drop out in what would otherwise probably be an unchanged side from last weekend’s 1-1 draw at home to high-flying Wycombe Wanderers.

Poku played the final 20 minutes of that game after replacing Hayes and iis due to test his fitness further with 45 minutes of an under 21 match this afternoon. Posh will again be without striker Gustav Lindgren.

"CIan has done well,” Ferguson added. “He probably needs to pull the trigger and shoot more quickly than he does, but he looked a threat all game against Wycombe.”

Posh are unbeaten in five League One games and one Vertu Trophy tie, but four of those games were drawn over 90 minutes.

Cambridge beat promotion-chasing Stockport at the Abbey Stadium in their first game under the management of Neil Harris last month. They’ve also drawn at home to Bolton, but they've also lost on their own turf eight times.