Peterborough United warned they will face 'a completely different kind of test' when they take on Bolton Wanderers
Posh boss Darren Ferguson has warned his players they face a completely different League One challenge when they visit Bolton Wanderers on Saturday (3pm).
A week after running aground against the physical barriers erected by a long-ball, defensively strong Lincoln City side, Posh will tackle the most expansive side in the division at the Toughsheet Stadium.
Ferguson is relishing the opportunity to pit his wits against Bolton manager Steven Schumacher who took Plymouth Argyle up as League One champions with 101 points in the 2022-23 season.
A mini-run of good form came to an abrupt end last weekend when Posh went down 3-0 at home to Lincoln City. That result left them next-to-bottom, although Bolton have not yet fired on all cylinders themselves as they are 11th following a shock 2-0 defeat at Northampton Town.
"Every game is a different challenge and that’s what makes management so exciting,” Ferguson said. “We were disappointed last weekend as we wanted to play with aggression and get up the field and instead we were passive. It was a real head scratcher for me as we knew the first goal was going to be important purely because of the way Lincoln play.
"It was hard after that, although we created a couple of good chances, and we faded badly. Unfortunately we are going to lose football matches, but here are right and wrong ways to lose. The recent game at Huddersfield was the right way whereas the Lincoln game certainly wasn’t.
“And now we face a completely different challenge. The game at Bolton won’t be anything like last weekend because they are very attacking and very fluid. It’s another tough game though.
"The season has already been split into two parts for us because we put ourselves under pressure by a poor start. We then built a new team, changed formation and we have delivered three decent performances out of four.”
Posh went down 2-0 to Plymouth under Schumacher at the start of the 2022-23 season when Grant McCann was still in charge at London Road.
Ferguson had started his fourth stint as Posh boss by the time the return game was played and it finished 5-2 to the home side who delivered an outstanding performance. Jonson Clarke-Harris (2), Hector Kyprianou, Harrison Burrows and Jack Taylor scored for Posh.
Schumacher was in the Bolton dugout facing Posh when the teams fought out a 1-1 draw at the end of last season at the Weston Homes Stadium.