The Peterborough United boss has many reasons to be cheerful ahead of the visit of Exeter City

Williams points to the mood in the first-team squad, the emergence of fringe players during an injury crisis and the promise of the club’s Academy players as reasons to be cheerful.

There is also the prospect of senior players returning to action from the middle of March. Posh have a home game with Exeter City on Saturday followed by a trip to Northampton Town on February 28 and a visit from Port Vale on March 7 before a trip to Leyton Orient on March 14 when Matt Garbett, Ben Woods, Sam Hughes and Harley Mills might be available for selection.

It’s likely Posh will stick to the same starting line-up tomorrow after an unfortunate defeat at Barnsley on Tuesday, although free-scoring winger Kyrell Lisbie and midfielder Brandon Khela picked up knocks in that game.

"We probably did enough to win at Barnsley,” Williams said. “We created some very good chances even though three away games in eight days was a new experience for some of our players. We dug deep to win the first one, but that took a lot out of us. Three points from those three games is not so bad, but it seemed a wasted opportunity after winning the first one.

"We are tired, but we are certainly not down. There have been a few knocks and bangs, but we’re okay and I expect to see more energy tomorrow. Not having to travel will certainly help.

"I was proud of the way Declan Frith played at Barnsley. His has been a stop-start season, but I have been impressed with how he has coped with the ups and downs. He never takes it out on his teammates when he is disappointed with himself. He is always there for those teammates and plays with energy and enthusiasm.

“Every group would be better with a Declan Frith in it. He gave a very mature display at Barnsley. He was aggressive and attacked with flair.

"It’s my job to keep steering the players in the right direction. I have great belief in all of them and I hope they realise that. At the same time I have to keep pushing them. There are no shortcuts and no magic formula, but we now have a great opportunity to show we are still in the fight.

"We are in a very good position, given where we were not so long ago, for the home stretch of the league campaign and we are all excited about that. We have three long weeks now with no midweek games which will help.

"I want to be successful here. I love this club and my working relationship with the chairman. We share a belief in the young players and there is no fear in selecting them to play. A pathway from the Academy to the first team is something that should happen at our level at a club of our size. There are no freebies for the young players though. It’s not a charity, it’s a professional sporting organisation.

"Patryk Sykut has taken his chance. He is not the tallest, but he has strong balance and good core strength. He understands how to use his body. His technical ability is obvious, but he can also fend for himself.

“We have another tough game on Saturday. I love the Exeter team. They have a very clear idea of how they play. They are quite young I believe and they are a team that’s prepared to take the ball. We are very similar teams in the way approach games and it should be a good, energetic game as a result.

"But we know if we get the fundamentals right we can give anyone a game in this division.”

Posh are 11th going into tomorrow’s match, three places and four points ahead of Exeter who have two matches in hand. Posh are still just five points off the play-off places and 10 points clear of the relegation zone.