Peterborough United's hopes of a shock relegation reprieve have faded, but manager McCann is determined to make the club's fans proud of their team

Speaking after Posh had finished the season with an emphatic 5-0 win over Blackpool at the Weston Homes Stadium last weekend, manager Grant McCann hinted relegation rivals Reading could be in danger of further sanctions for financial misdemeanours.

The Royals, who finished four points and one place above Posh, were deducted six points in November with a further six point deduction suspended in case the club make additional breaches.

The latest accounts published by Reading in February revealed pre-tax losses of £35.7m. The EFL only permit a maximum loss of £39m across three seasons.

But the Peterborough Telegraph understands the EFL are confident Reading have not made a further breach of of their stringent financial regulations. The ruling body have not started a separate investigation into the club so Posh will go down to League One, alongside Derby County and Barnsley, after just one season in the second tier.

In any event if there were further points deductions in the pipeline for Reading they would be more likely to be imposed next season.

Posh finished the Championship season with just 37 points from 46 matches so it would have been a remarkable reprieve if they had been allowed to stay up. They only finished three points ahead of Derby who suffered a 21-point deduction with the possibility of more to come next season

Posh should take heart from Wycombe’s recovery from relegation to earn a place in the League One play-off final later this month after a 2-1 aggregate semi-final win over MK Dons.

Certainly McCann is determined to make a success of his second spell in charge of Posh. He told the club’s fans on social media: “Thank you for accepting me back into your family, your support has been immense. Sorry we couldn’t quite get there, but we will do all we can to make you proud.”