Peterborough United will finish in League One’s top two says manager Darren Ferguson

Ferguson remains adamant the 2019-20 campaign must be completed even if the all-clear from the coronavirus crisis is not received until late in the summer.

He accepts that current form - and sixth-placed Posh had won seven of their previous nine matches before the stoppage - will not count for much, but he’s bullish about the chances of his team overhauling the current three-point gap to second-placed Rotherham in the final nine matches of the season.

“If we do go up it would be one hell of an achievement because the circumstances are unique,” Ferguson said.

“Current form won’t count for anything when we resume because of the long break, but the players are currently working hard to make sure we are as ready as we can be when the season resumes. I trust them completely to follow their set programmes.

“Every team is in the same boat. We will all have to do a mini pre-season before we play again, but I believe we will finish in the top two this season as we recruited well in January and the balance of the squad is now so good.

“Ivan Toney has been excellent and he gives us an advantage over other teams, but it’s never about one man. We’ve had a lot of free-scoring strikers here and not gone up.

“I would say I’ve not met my own expectations with the squad so far, but I’m still confident we will be successful.

“Beating Rotherham at home in January really gave us all a lot of self-belief. That one result was vital.”

Posh have five home games left against Bristol Rovers, Blackpool. MK Dons, Shrewsbury and Tranmere who are all currently in the bottom half of League One.

They have four away games remaining at Bolton, Coventry, Sunderland and Rochdale.

Posh have not dropped a home point against any team currently in the bottom half of League One.