Peterborough United manager upbeat despite another defeat: ‘This level of commitment and intensity has to be the norm for the rest of the season’

Ferguson felt his side were unlucky to lose 1-0 to in-form Preston North End at the Weston Homes Stadium today (February 12).

They remain in 22nd place with a paltry 20 points from 29 matches, but defeats for Derby County and Reading - the teams either side of them - mean survival remains in Posh’s hands. Their next two fixtures are at home to Reading on Wednesday (February 16) and away at Derby on Saturday (February 19). Posh will move out of the bottom three with a win over Reading.

Bottom club Barnsley claimed a shock home win over QPR and are now just three points behind Posh with a better goal difference.

Preston scored the winning goal through on-loan Aston Villa forward Cameron Archer 10 minutes from time just 60 seconds after Joe Ward had smacked a 30-yard free kick against the visiting crossbar.

“It’s a tough one to take as far as the result is concerned,” Ferguson said. “It was a game we didn’t deserve to lose. Our goalkeeper didn’t have a save to make until he was beaten by a moment of real quality.

“We need to catch a break. We hit the bar and they go straight up the other end and score, but we at least showed we are prepared to fight to stay up. And we got a lift after the game because Reading and Derby, who are our next two opponents, lost.

“In terms of a committed, determined, intensive performance I got what I was looking for. We lacked some quality, but the players at least had a real go.

“It was frustrating to lose, but these things happen when you are towards the bottom of the table. I’ve been down there before and it’s important you don’t start to feel sorry for yourselves.

“I’ve told the players if we play with that commitment and intensity for the rest of the season it will give us our best chance of staying up.

“I’m certainly feeling a lot more positive than after the Wednesday game (Posh lost 4-0 at Cardiff). We kept the fans onside which is important. I felt they were ready to turn, but we didn’t allow them to.”

Ferguson played a 4-3-3 formation against Preston and was pleased with how the players took to it.

He made four changes to his side with Jonson Clarke-Harris, Joe Ward, Reece Brown and Nathan Thompson starting in place of Callum Morton, Jack Marriott, Ronnie Edwards and Bali Mumba. Edwards missed the game because of injury.

“I had to change something after Cardiff,” Ferguson added. “And I liked the formation. It suited Clarke-Harris as he could stay central with Kwame and Joe Ward doing his running for him. That was Joe’s best performance of the season.

“I liked the three in midfield. Norburn and Fuchs are tough and Reece Brown can pass the ball, and defensively we were good. We won tackles and my two centre-backs (Josh Knight and Frankie Kent) headed and kicked everything clear. Fair play to Josh for bouncing back from a very dificult night at Cardiff to play well. He showed some good character.

“I was pleased with the performance, but obviously not the result. It’s now vital we keep this level of commitment and intensity going in every game for the rest of the season.”