Peterborough United should be panicking after another dreadful display that screamed of relegation

The performance in the 3-1 defeat at Bristol Rovers on Sunday, a team that started the day below Posh in the League One table, screamed of relegation. There was no quality going forward, no solidity at the back and, worst of all, there was precious little fight from one to 11. Unless Tayo Edun was involved there was no chance of a Posh player emerging from a 50/50 tackle at the Memorial Stadium with the ball.

It was hardly the first time this season those factors have combined to deliver inevitable defeats. This is a club who have sleepwalked into danger. This is a club who have seemed to believe they are too good to go down. They thought they had a squad that would improve as the season wore on. They thought building the youngest squad in the division would yield excellence every season. They have been wrong on every point and they are now finding out how hard it is to arrest rapid decline.

Three new defensive signings have not improved results, as soon as they’ve been tested away from home at least, and of the bottom six Posh have the least momentum. As others – Burton, Northampton, Shrewsbury and now Bristol Rovers - have improved on the back of effort, organisation and determination, Posh have become worse. For the second away game in a row they pretty much surrendered without a fight. They folded at the first sign of adversity and that five-point gap to the relegation zone will be erased by the end of the month unless there is miraculous improvement or an unexpected boost from transfer deadline day.

Posh only play away games in February and three sides full of big, powerful men – Charlton, Stevenage and Huddersfield – will be salivating at the chance of gorging on such a timid group of players.

Other talking points from Rovers 3, Posh 1…

1) I do hope Posh are planning more transfer deadline day signings than they’ve publicly admitted to, especially if they sell either Hector Kyprianou or Ricky-Jade Jones without the sort of immediate loan return clause they seem to have imposed on the possible, and rather bizarre, move of Emmanuel Fernandez to Norwich City. Neither Kyprianou or Jones are in any sort of form, but they have some pedigree at League One level which is more than some of the current alternatives can boast. Deadline day business is surely crucial. If players leave they must be replaced. Chairman Darragh MacAnthony and Darren Ferguson are no fools. They can see what is unfolding and a failure to act accordingly would be hugely disappointing, and probably fatal.

2) It sums Posh up that the biggest scoring chance they had by far, when the game was still alive, was created by an opponent and what a crucial moment it was. Rovers left-back Lino Sousa played Gustav Lindgren through on goal. It looked harder to miss than to score, but the Swede somehow managed to shoot wide of the goal by a good few feet. It was 0-0 at the time and, while it’s a stretch to believe Posh would have gone on to win after taking the lead, it would certainly have dampened the atmosphere in the stadium and who knows how that would have affected a team that had lost their two previous matches.

3) Two away games has seen the new-look defence leak eight goals to two teams who usually struggle in front of goal. Rovers were the lowest scorers in League One before this game and yet delivered three uncontested finishes as Posh left gaping gaps in the backline. Posh appear to have signed defenders who are uncomfortable with the preferred style of play. Sam Hughes, in particular, and Carl Johnston don’t look comfortable in possession near their own penalty area.

4) George Nevett, who can pass a ball, is sadly not ready for the physical rigours of League One. He was game, but he was bullied all afternoon. If he’s seen in an away game again this season I’d be amazed.

5) Ferguson appeared more frustrated with his side’s attacking failings than their defensive ones and it’s true Rovers hardly looked rock solid defensively. But Posh frittered away many promising positions with careless passes and weak shots. One suspects Kwame Poku would have had a field day against Sousa, but the pressure on someone who is still a young player will be immense when he returns. He will certainly be double-teamed when he is back as opponents will know he carries far more threat than any other forward.

6) It’s easy to feel sorry for Cian Hayes. He did well initially as Poku’s replacement on the right wing, but then he was shunted to left wing-back for a while and then to a right wing-back position with disastrous consequences. He then picked up an injury and on Sunday he sat on the substitutes’ bench while Abraham Odoh, a left-winger, played in his preferred position. Odoh looks like a player bereft of confidence. He should have been hooked well before half-time. It often baffles me when managers wait until the break to fix something that clearly isn’t working from kick off.

7) Posh have suffered a serious injury in a pre-match warm-up this season (Mo Susoho) and now they have suffered one in a post-match warm-down (Jadel Katongo). It’s uncanny how bad luck haunts bad sides.