Peterborough United must embrace the pressure of a relegation fight says star striker who is desperate to make up for lost time by leading a successful bid for survival

Marriott made a goalscoring return to the starting line-up in Tuesday’s frustrating 2-2 draw at Birmingham City. It was just a second goal of the season for the summer signing. His first came at Sheffield United in a 6-2 hammering at Bramall Lane and the Blades are at the Weston Homes Stadium for a Championship fixture on Saturday (January 29, 5.30pm kick) which will be televised live on Sky Sports.

Marriott missed 18 Championship matches after damaging his hamstring at Reading in September and he means to make up for lost time.

“It would be huge for me to score some goals and help the team stay up after missing so much of the season,” Marriott said. “This club means a lot to me which is why I came back.

“I’ve not been involved enough so I really want to play a part in the next 20 games.

“It was great to come back and score at Birmingham as it made it some tough months trying to get fit worth it. It was just frustrating we couldn’t hold on for the win we deserved.

“We hardly gave them a chance for 85 minutes and then a scuffed volley travels through some legs and goes in and I’m thinking ‘here we go again’ as things have gone against us late in games so often this season.

“And when they equalised I was just happy for us to get through the rest of the game and get an away point.

“The attitude of the players and the desire to get out of trouble can’t be questioned and now we need to embrace the pressure of some big games.

“We have some big games against teams around us in February, but really, in our position, every game is equally as important. We need to try and win every game, home and away.

“We feel we have it in us to make things right and acheive even more. It’s in our own hands and we must just focus on the next game and try and win it.

“Not many will expect us to beat Sheffield United given the size and quality of their squad. Most of them have played in the Premier League and performed well there. They are better than their league position suggests, but if we play our own game well, we can certainly trouble them.”

Sheffield United are 12th in the Championship eight points outside the play-offs, but they have games in hand on all the teams above them.

Posh play relegation rivals Cardiff, Reading, Derby and Hull in February.