Peterborough United will be solely focused on achieving promotion from League One next season

Posh will play their ninth League One campaign in the last ten years this coming season but McCann is determined to help the club bounce back at the first opportunity. So much so, he says that his sole focus is on the league this season.

Posh fell just four points short of Championship safety last season, with many fans speculating that the club could have survived had he taken over from Darren Ferguson sooner.

Nevertheless, McCann has insisted that earning promotion this year will take a ‘huge’ effort from everyone at the club.

When asked about how he might use players in the Papa John’s Trophy, he said: “Our firm focus is on the league this season. I am not thinking about anything else.

"The league is the bread and butter, it’s the focus of what we want to do. We want to be strong, competitive and we want to make sure we are at the top end of the league.

“That is going to take a huge effort from everyone connected to the club. Not just the players either, the staff and everyone around the place will need to put in a mighty effort.

“Cup games come along at certain times but have I thought what I’m going to do in them? No, the focus is the league.”

In that quest, McCann has added five new players to his squad. 26-year-old midfielder Ben Thompson, 21-year-old Hector Kyprianou and 23-year-old winger David Ajboye have boosted the outfield ranks.

Speaking to the club, McCann ran the rule over his new recruits. He said: “Ben is everything I like about a midfield player; high energy, high aggression, can handling the ball, can drift past people, can beat a man and is tremendous in the air, he’s small but has a great leap on him. Our teams over the years have always had energy and legs and Ben can certainly do that.

“There’s no rush with Hector. He’s a young player who’s had a decent enough season with Leyton Orient last year. He’s got great attributes; he’s 6’3/6’4, handles the ball very well, looks after it and has good legs.

"We’ve got high hopes but he won’t rush him. He’s a player to bring in to nurture and improve and I have no doubt, in time, he’ll be knocking players out of the way.

"We like versatility at the top of the pitch. Our seven options are all different and I think that’s what you need. I like to keep the opposition guessing, I don’t want to take off a Jonson Clarke-Harris and bring on a Jonson Clarke-Harris.

"David will bring that difference. He has pace, wants to get at people and can play on the left, right or as a 9 if needed so I’m really pleased with that addition as well.”