Peterborough United’s worthy displays aren’t really helping, McCann v Ferguson, primitive tactics, nerveless Clarke-Harris and awful referees

Not really. Only 10 games remain during which Posh need to overtake three teams and make up seven points on one of them taking into account a lousy goal difference.

It really is win or bust time now starting with the visit of Swansea City on Wednesday night, the lowest ranked opponent who still have to visit London Road this season. It’s now or never. If Posh don’t beat Russell Martin’s men it will surely be back to trips to Accrington Stanley and maybe Fleetwood next season along with EFL Trophy football, and no-one really wants that.

At least Posh are fighting. They’re getting stuck in and having a go. Any attempts at finesse have gone the same way of a trio of Posh loanees, never to be seen again probably, and on this playing surface with these players it’s an understandable if rather ugly approach.

Posh were much better in drawing 1-1 at second-placed Bournemouth last week then they were in drawing 2-2 at home to Stoke City yesterday (March 12), but they showed guts and flashes of quality at the Vitality Stadium and an impressive never-say-die attitude at the Weston Homes Stadium by twice responding to conceding goals by scoring themselves within 10 minutes.

But Posh haven’t won in the Championship since beating Millwall on December 11 when then manager Darren Ferguson stated 10 more would wins would see his team safe. They won’t need to do that, but asking a team with five wins all season to even win five of the last 10 is a lot. You never know though.

TALKING POINTS FROM POSH 2, STOKE CITY 2...

1) It’s interesting to read those Posh fans who are adamant newish manager Grant McCann is a step up from Ferguson. Two points from his first four Championship matches in charge proves there was no new manager bounce, even if he did take over a side bereft of confidence. But new ideas take time to implement and the last two displays have been encouraging at least with flashes of good football and plenty of heart and commitment. McCann’s football at home has not been pretty and there appears little chance Posh fans will see the quality that Ferguson’s team displayed in their wins against QPR, Birmingham and Millwall this season, but then the new man has to contend with a playing surface that has deteriorated markedly since the turn of the year and he hasn’t had the pleasure of Siriki Dembele’s company. The jury must remains out until we see if McCann’s marriage to three centre-backs trumps Ferguson’s flexibility with formations.

2) Stoke City boss Michael O’Neill gave Posh boss McCann the last of his 39 Northern Ireland caps in 2012. McCann was a cultured midfielder, but O’Neill was dismissive of his tactics yesterday claiming the Posh plan was to ‘hit the ball long and fight for it.’ It was tougher for Posh to play against Stoke than it had been at Bournemouth as the Potters played the same system as McCann employed and were better at it for most of the game. Joe Ward, such a star at Bournemouth, had his hands full against an excellent left wing-back and did more defending than attacking. Posh don’t have technical midfielders (at least while Jorge Grant remains out of form) who can be trusted keep possession so they were forced into many long balls in the direction of Jonson Clarke-Harris who at least kept the Stoke back three honest.

3) Say what you like about Clarke-Harris, and let’s be honest we’ve all had plenty to say this season, he has never lost his bottle. He was nerveless from the penalty spot in the 92nd minute again to rescue a point yesterday. Earlier he claimed his first open play goal, after starting a Championship match this season, with a cracking strike. He’s roughed up defenders in the last two matches and he’s benefitted from having teammates in and around him. He lasted the pace yesterday as well when he was clearly struggling after the break at Bournemouth.

4) It was strange to see Jeando Fuchs operating further forward than fellow midfielder Jack Taylor yesterday. McCann explained Fuchs was deployed to disrupt star Stoke midfielder Joe Allen and he did that job brilliantly in the second-half. I do feel Posh are not going to get the best out of Taylor until they can get him further foward though. He has a goal in him and for a Posh team that simply has to start winning that needs to be exploited.

5) It was another shocking weekend for Championship referees and not just Geoff Eltringham who was all over the place for 90 minutes at London Road yesterday. Ultimately he favoured Posh by denying Stoke a nailed-on late penalty after giving them a much softer one 10 minutes earlier, but how on earth did he not produce a card when Ricky-Jade Jones won Posh a penalty in added time? Elsewhere there was a crucial terrible decision by Lee Doughty to give West Brom a penalty against promotion-chasing Huddersfield which turned that game (the same referee had made an appalling decision that hurt promotion-chasing Bournemouth at Preston the week before). And Tim Robinson is tipped to become a Premier League referee one day, something that probabably won’t be affected by his dismal decision-making in the recent Bournemouth/Stoke game or by the ludicrous penalty call in favour of Barnsley against Fulham yesterday. It’s a shocking state of affairs, but not one that has had an effect on Posh hitting rock bottom.