Turning Peterborough United pussycats into lions is one huge challenge as this is a squad with glaring deficiencies all over the pitch

The main man at London Road believes Posh will be a ‘different animal’ by the end of the month. Judging by the first three games of the League One season turning water into wine would be easier than tuning pussycats into roaring lions, unless the four promised signings include players of the calibre of Dwight Gayle and George Thorne, two men who helped transform a Darren Ferguson side who lost their first 7 league games over a decade ago.

That’s a long shot given the overall standard of recruitment in the last three transfer windows, the arrivals last January of Tayo Edun and Sam Hughes aside. Star men have left to be replaced by rookies of a far inferior quality. That can happen. There is no perfect recruitment system, but the failure to react decisively to an impending decline, one that seemed inevitable to us laymen, has bitten Posh on the backside.

The last Posh win arrived in spectacular style at Wembley In April. Either side of that EFL Trophy Final success Posh were hopeless, losing 4-0 at home to Cobblers and failing to win any of their last seven League One matches.

Sensibly Ferguson used the final matches of the campaign to give games to those who had been on the fringes. If it was a test many failed and yet virtually all still remain at the club. It shouldn’t be that big a surprise to see the winless streak in League One has now stretched to 10 games following Saturday’s 2-0 loss at Wigan Athletic after a performance which suggested more pain is sure to follow, in the short term at least.

I’d never accuse MacAnthony, Ferguson and the data analysts who drive transfer policy of negligence. I’m sure the stats and the video tapes are studied relentlessly, and great care has been taken over decisions, but too many have been baffling and, quite obviously, bad.

It is actually to their credit that a screeching U turn appears to have now been made. It’s tough to reconcile a claim that Posh are carrying out some sort of masterplan by acting decisively and ruthlessly in the transfer market now rather than 3 months ago, but the need for instant improvement is now so glaringly obvious the club have sprung into necessary action.

Heads that should have rolled in June have now been told the axe is imminent. Experience has already been signed. The surgery cannot wait, it has to be carried out in the next fortnight or Posh will be as good as down before there is another transfer window. Anyone who has seen the opening four competitive matches of the season will know that’s not over-dramatic pessimism.

Other talking points from Wigan 2, Posh 0...

1) I trust the other planned signings are ready to start matches. Posh have signed potential in Kiwi international midfielder Matt Garbett and knowhow and size in veteran centre-back Tom Lees in the last few days, but both are weeks away from a debut as they have barely played in 2025.

2) The injuries to goalkeeper Alex Bass and skipper Hughes are mitigation, but they don’t come close to excusing the Posh defending on view at Wigan yesterday. I feel a little for Oscar Wallin who formed a decent central defensive partnership with Hughes in the second-half of last season. He is far better on the right side where his ball-carrying skills can thrive, but a lack of faith in natural left-footer George Nevett means he has been deployed on the ‘wrong’ side alongside newcomer David Okagbue. Wallin can shine there, and he was pretty good against Luton Town, but at Wigan he was run ragged by, and couldn’t cope with, two powerful and speedy strikers and a right-sided forward who breezed past the Swede before creating the early opening goal. Wallin could easily have been sent off in the second-half after one long pass found him the wrong side of a brisk striker.

3) To compound the difficulties experienced by Wallin, Carl Johnston changed flanks at half-time to play at left-back. Now, Harley Mills was poor in his 45 minutes on the pitch, but he offers balance and he is a player with the skills to make something out of nothing happen further forward. Instead Posh had four right-footed defenders in action in the second-half. It probably wasn’t a coincidence Wigan carved out and missed two glorious chances in the opening 5 minutes of the second period after cutting through the left-hand side of the Posh defence.

4) It’s not looking any brighter up top either. Posh looked decent in possession at times at Wigan. They passed the ball quickly through midfield and found space behind the home wing-backs and yet it took them 80 minutes to deliver a shot on target. Cian Hayes was positive on one flank, but Abraham Odoh was the opposite on the other side. Brad Ihionvien offered nuisance value for half an hour, but does not yet have the link-up play or positional instincts to threaten assists and goals. Significantly perhaps Gustav Lindgren didn’t even step on the pitch. On his podcast last week McAnthony expressed disappointment in his team’s second Swedish player. He and Ferguson had previously only been supportive of a striker who turned 24 on Saturday, but it’s looking increasingly likely he will be viewed as another recruitment flop, an expensive one at £500k.

5) It would be a major surprise if Kyrell Lisbie and Klaidi Lolos don’t start in Tuesday’s home game against Barnsley. Both looked far better than the players they replaced at Wigan.

6) The biggest positive from yesterday was heads didn’t drop and most players didn’t hide. The attitude of skipper Carl Johnston was outstanding and Cian Hayes wasn’t far behind him. There was a big gulf in attacking athleticism and defensive strength between the teams, but Posh at least kept going and even managed to exert some pressure towards the end of the game. Of course effort should be a minimum guarantee in professional football, but it doesn’t always arrive when teams are bereft of confidence.