Peterborough United will not panic after back-to-back defeats but need to be more ruthless insists Kieran Scarff

Scarff was on media duties following manager Darren Ferguson’s sending off in the middle of the second half, which prohibited him from post-match media duties. He picked up two dissent cautions with just over 20 minutes to play with his side already 4-1 down.

Posh ended up pulling a goal back to lose 4-2 in a match they had led 1-0 courtesy of a Jonson Clarke-Harris goal.

Derby then blew Posh away with four goals in 16 minutes, including a Martyn Waghorn hat-trick.

The result dropped Posh down to 10th in a very congested League One table and Scarff was left to rue his side’s lack of ruthlessness.

Scarff said: “Initially, the game went exactly the way we hoped. A lot of the things we worked on were working and we started really strong. We were disappointed to be just 1-0 up.

“It was still a good position to be in, but we provided them with four opportunities in the half and they were ruthless, that was the difference. They were ruthless and we weren’t.

“Martyn Waghorn and Conor Washington - who we know from his time here - are experienced centre forwards and they have good players who took their chances.

“In some respects you could say the result was harsh, but they’ve created the chances they’ve created and scored them. We haven’t. It’s what that game is about.

“At the start of the game, we had the chance to do the same and he didn’t.

“We’ll look back at the defending and there will definitely be things we could have done better.”

Posh have now fallen to back-to-back defeats after winning their opening three matches, but Scarff has urged his side not to panic.

Scarff added: “The players have been absolutely brilliant from the first day back in pre-season. We’ve got a real identity, everyone can see that and we won’t change that.

“We have a real belief in this group and the way we’re working and that’s been seen in every performance. We’ve highlighted the lack of consistency you will get with young players at times, but we’re not going to panic and change things.

“The more we do it and the more we repeat it over a long period of time, I guarantee this group will continue to get better."

Posh now face a double trip to Portsmouth, first in the EFL Cup on Tuesday. Pompey are unbeaten so far this season but have drawn their last two league games 0-0. They were held away at Steve Evans’ Stevenage on Saturday.