Peterborough United's first quarter has been underwhelming, but there are healthy signs of a recovery as a breakaway in League One looks likely, plus rampant Ricky and the club's surprising bit-part player

In the eight seasons Posh spent in the wilderness of the third tier before their promotion to the Championship in 2020-21 they’ve only accumulated fewer than 18 points in the first 11 matches on two occasions.

But it’s exactly the number they picked up in the Covid campaign of 2019-20 (enough for seventh place again) and by the time that season was curtailed early Posh had momentum, and an easy run-in, which might well have led to automatic promotion had other clubs not put self-interest before fairplay.

Nothing is ever decided in the first flurry of matches. For example Posh had a whopping 28 points from 11 games in the 2013-14 season and finished sixth.

But it looks like there’s a huge gulf in quality between the best teams and the weaker teams in League One this term. Five of the top six won again on Saturday and the only losers, Portsmouth, went down to second-placed Ipswich.

The current top eight of Plymouth, Ipswich, Sheffield Wednesday, Portsmouth, Barnsley, Bolton, Posh and Derby could well break away from the bunch so it’s important Grant McCann’s team extend their current burst of good form throughout October. Take away the final five minutes yesterday and Posh delivered plenty of encouragement in their 3-2 win at MK Dons.

Next up are Burton Albion and Forest Green Rovers, two of the current bottom three, at the Weston Homes Stadium. You’d hope six points would get Posh into the top six and ready to launch a charge at the automatic promotion places.

TALKING POINTS FROM MK…

1) Ricky-Jade Jones was a revelation yesterday when the big pitch at stadium:mk suited his sizzling speed and strength down to the ground. He might not find it so easy to wreak havoc on the tight pitches at Accrington Stanley and Burton Albion, but that’s an issue for another day. It wasn’t so long ago that Jones was viewed by many as a waste of pace, but it’s clear now he has much more to offer than sheer speed. His run and cross (with his weaker left foot) to set up Kwame Poku’s first Posh goal was the outstanding creative moment of the match. His finish to kill the game off 10 minutes into the second-half would have pleased strikers with far more experience than the 19 year-old, and all the more impressive as he’d missed an easier one-on-one opportunity in the first-half. It was all most encouraging and fair play to manager Grant McCann for instilling self-belief so quickly into the youngster who responded with his first Football League goal for 17 months and only the second of his career.

2) Few would have predicted Jack Marriott would have become a bit-part player so soon into the season. It’s tough to see him breaking into the side while Posh play the 4-3-3 formation so effectively. Marriott is a team player though. If anything he tried too hard when he came on for the final 25 minutes at MK. It’s a certainty he will get his head down and make sure he’s ready when starting opportunities arrive, which they will, rather than sulk. He’s too professional for that.

3) Jack Taylor completed 100 appearances for Posh yesterday and celebrated by delivering a masterful midfield display. One of the highlights of this up-and-down season has been Taylor’s own consistency, especially given his regular hamstring problems. Touch wood, they appear to have been resolved. Taylor is one of just three players – Jonson Clarke-Harris and Lucas Bergstrom are the others – to have started all 11 League One games for Posh this season. Harrison Burrows had started the first 10, but was a substitute at MK Dons.

4) Dan Butler replaced Burrows at left-back at stadium:mk and when he backed off and was then beaten on the outside by wing-back Daniel Oyegoke in the first couple of minutes it didn’t bode well. But Butler was soon on top of his brief and wasn’t beaten again before his substitution for fatigue 20 minutes from time. Posh have let in 11 away goals in six League One matches and only three teams in the entire division have let in more on the road. Butler getting back up to full speed will only help improve that statistic.

5) There was criticism of McCann’s use of five subs yesterday and it’s true Posh conceded two goals after he’d completed them all. But that’s unfair criticism. The first MK goal might well have been flagged offside and the second was caused by a rush of blood from goalkeeper Lucas Bergstrom. The five replacements on the pitch had no involvement. Bergstrom has plenty of credit in the bank though. It’s a positive he made his biggest blunder of the season when it didn’t matter!

6) MK Dons are the latest club to show the perils of relying on loan players. They had some good ones last season when they finished third in League One, but they’ve all gone, along with a couple of their own better players, and they looked a sorry outfit yesterday. When you have to make so many changes there can be no momentum from the previous season. Plymouth have gone down the multiple-loan route this season and it will be fascinating to see how the next couple of seasons pan out for them.