Peterborough United manager talks about a promotion bid next season, the frustration of his players, clubs burying their heads in the sand and why health must come before football

Peterborough United manager Darren Ferguson is already planning a League One promotion bid for the 2020-21 season,
Posh manager Darren Ferguson.Posh manager Darren Ferguson.
Posh manager Darren Ferguson.

The Posh boss appears resigned to the current campaign being curtailed when the clubs get round to voting on the matter on June 1. That would mean Posh finishing seventh following the application of an unweighted points-per-game average (PPG) and missing out on the play-offs.

Ferguson is frustrated as he believes his team had a real shot at finishing in the automatic promotion places - they are just three points behind second-placed Rotherham United - but, despite the inevitable summer sale of top scorer Ivan Toney, the manager believes his club will emerge from the current crisis in better shape than most.

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In a wide-ranging interview Ferguson also expressed concern for his players and insisted all football folk shouldn’t lose sight of the loss of life caused by the coronavirus.

Posh loanee Sammie Szmodics.Posh loanee Sammie Szmodics.
Posh loanee Sammie Szmodics.

“The bottom line is 37,000 people have died during this pandemic,” Ferguson said. “No matter what we think should happen in football, our health is the most important thing.

“No-one could see this pandemic coming and I understand why there are still doubts about playing again, even next season.

“But it has always been my view we should continue the season when it’s safe to do so. I don’t get the rush to get finished. The Prime Minister is opening more things up next month, but I also understand there are many ways of looking at things. Some clubs can’t afford to play, others don’t want to get relegated.

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“The frustrating thing about the football is the lack of clarity on so many issues. I’ve been on managers’ meetings and not learnt much. We also had a draft document saying the cost of testing would be covered by the EFL, but that isn’t happening.

“Then we had the document last week advising PPG would be used if we end the season now, but there’s another EFL Board meeting today (May 27) and vote next Monday by which time another week will have gone by without clubs knowing what exactly is going on. I feel for my players who are constantly asking me what’s happening and I feel for our fans who for the first time in a while had a real positivity about us winning promotion.

“We are ready to play again, but it doesn’t look like things are going to go our way which is a shame as I felt we would get to the top two. We’d emerged from a bad spell over Christmas to win seven games of nine and beat some very good sdes very convincingly.

“But if we don’t play again this season then we will be ready for the next one. It is tough to plan as we don’t even know when next season will start and we don’t know what the transfer windows will look like, but we have a plan in place should we still be in League One.

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“Obviously Ivan will be sold and it will be tough to replace someone with his skill, physicality and goalscoring ability. We might have to sign two to replace him, but the money we will get for Ivan will help us. We might have to get creative and try and get Sammie Szmodics and Reece Brown back on loan, but with the support of the owners I am sure we will still be better off than most.

“I’d certainly be positive about next season as I was about this one, but my big doubt is when it will actually start. “If we wait too long clubs won’t be able to pay players. I think a lot of clubs have buried their heads in the sand about next season.

“My optimistic mind says we will be back in September, but possibly behind closed doors.”