REACTION: An easy win, a giant step towards promotion, but was Posh boss Darren Ferguson happy? Not really!

Two goals from Siriki Dembele and a last-minute strike from Jonson Clarke-Harris, who also missed a penalty, secured a vital win for Posh at the County Ground which coupled with third-placed Sunderland’s 2-1 defeat at the hands of Charlton at the Stadium of Light has left Ferguson’s side in a strong position with six matches to go.

Second-placed Posh remain three points behind leaders Hull with a game in hand after the Tigers also won 3-0, at Plymouth.

But Ferguson didn’t believe his side played well and he will demand more ruthlessness from his players who play four of their next five games at home,

“I counted five one-on-ones we missed and we missed a penalty,” Ferguson stated. “We played okay, but no better than that. We will need to be more ruthless for the rest of the season.

“I shouldn’t have been sat in the stands with 89 minutes gone worried in case Swindon pull a goal back. We should have been out of sight by then. The back four and the goalkeeper were excellent, but the finishing was absolutely horrible. We should have won 7 or 8-0.

“Siriki did show good tenacity and great skill for his goals. It was a terrific pass from Mo Eisa for the first goal, but missing a penalty spooked us. We would have cruised home if we had gone 3-0 up a lot earlier.

“We started the game poorly. I asked for plenty of aggression from the start, I didn’t get it. We scored at good times, but we have standards at this club and we didn’t reach them today.

“That’s what I told the players afterwards and in a way it’s a compliment to them because they have won 3-0 away from home and yet we can still be much better than this.

“Of course the result is the most important thing and it was a good one especially as Sunderland lost.

“The season is set out in front of us now. We have four of the next five games at home, but we will need to be better than this.

Posh are next in action at home to local rivals Northampton Town when Sammie Szmodics will be available after missing today’s game with a shoulder injury. That kick-off time will be moved from 3pm to avoid a clash with the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral.

Debutant goalkeeper Josef Bursik enjoyed a comfortable afternoon.