PETERBOROUGH UNITED BOSS URGES HIS PLAYERS TO SHOW CONVICTION AND BELIEF AS THEY SEEK TO REACH THE LEAGUE ONE PLAY-OFF FINAL

Peterborough United boss Darren Ferguson believes his side will have to give ‘one hell of a performance’ to reach the League One play-off final.

Ferguson has urged his players to perform with conviction and belief at the Weston Homes Stadium on Wednesday (8pm kick off) as they attempt to overturn a 1-0 deficit from Saturday’s first leg in Oxford.

The boss believes his side are ready are ready to pass a tough test, but he’s also stressed the need for patience should Posh not score early in the game.

"We’ve had a good look at Saturday’s performance in terms of what we did well and what we did not so well,” Ferguson said. “The goal came out of the blue as we defended really well and if we take the way we finished that game into the start tomorrow I will be confident of getting the result we need.

"On the first day of pre-season, at the start of hundreds of training sessions, we would have taken a chance of winning one home game to reach Wembley and then one more game to win promotion.

"Of course we wanted automatic promotion, but play-off matches are fantastic occasions and we felt having the second leg at home would give us an advantage. The equation is simple now. We must beat Oxford over 90 minutes and if we need extra time then so be it.

“We would love a fast start, but it’s not the be all and end all. Oxford might score the first goal and then we would need to score three times to get through, but it’s important we react to any situation that develops and then find a solution.

"Most importantly we need to play with conviction and belief, as we did towards the end of the first game. We will have to tweak one or two things tactically and give one hell of a performance to get through, but we are at home and we are strong at home.

“The players are ready, there’s no question about that. They took plenty of positives from Saturday’s game. They will relish the occasion and it’s important we get the crown onside from kick off. There’s a reason why people still talk about the MK Dons play off game from 2011 as there is no doubt the atmosphere helped us over the line. We need to feel the fans’ energy straight away.”

Posh have no new injury concerns. Ferguson says he has a tough decision to make between Kwame Poku and David Ajiboye on the right side of the Posh attack, but it would be a major surprise if the former didn’t start. The tougher decision is who starts at centre forward, Ricky-Jade Jones or Malik Mothersille.

Extra time and penalties are available if the aggregate score is level after 90 minutes.

Bolton Wanderers take a 3-1 lead into a home second leg against Barnsley in the other play-off semi-final tonight (Tuesday, 8pm).

2024-05-07T13:37:33Z dg43tfdfdgfd