The seven things Peterborough United have to get right this summer

Potential Posh first-team centre-back Manu Fernandes. Photo: Joe Dent/theposh.com.

The club won't have approached a close season with so much potential upheaval in recent times.

Posh have replenished squads before, but never in such a drastic fashion.

Including loan players Nathanael Ogbeta and Will Norris, Posh could see 14 regular members of last season’s play-off squad leave London Road.

Here are the most pressing matters in the club’s in-tray…

1) A young squad will need a strong leader. It’s difficult to see a current playing member taking on the role of captain so he must be brought in from outside. Posh desperately need a Grant McCann or a Micah Hyde, someone who commands respect on and off the field.

2) Pre-season must be used wisely. Youngsters like Will Blackmore, Charlie O’Connell and Manu Fernandes need to be evaluated quickly. Are they good enough for League One now, or must they, in the case of the two centre-backs at least, go out on loan to continue their development?

3) Find an ‘oven-ready’ League One goalkeeper. Rookie number ones didn’t work last season. Even if Blackmore starts well he’s bound to suffer a dip in form at some stage.

4) Manage expectations. The last thing a young Posh squad needs at the start of the season is to be burdened by over-optimistic predictions. This has been addressed already by the hierarchy, but who knows what will be said in the heat of good or bad moments. More modesty will keep fans on side. Young players tend to be given more leeway in terms of performance by supporters.

5) Posh can expect to come under pressure as a revamped set of players become familiar with each other. If Posh are to sign a couple of older heads, a calm, but dominant centre-back should be one of them.

6) A long shot given probable wage expectations, but one hopes the question has at least been asked re Ogbeta. He's only 22 so he fits the new model and would solve the problem position of left-back.

7) If players on the transfer list are still at the club towards the end of the summer, don’t freeze them out. Some have been great servants with excellent attitudes and they will be handy role models. Christy Pym is the exception to this rule!