The Peterborough Evening Telegraph
JACK’S THE LAD
With the transfer deadline looming Posh boss Grant McCann declared he was happy with what he’d got.
He was speaking after a brilliant 4-1 derby demolition of the Cobblers and a comfortable Checkatrade Trophy triumph against Southampton Under 23s.
Everything in the Posh garden looks rosy at the moment so small wonder he said: “The group’s together now. They don’t need anyone else coming in upsetting it.
“I think we made a mistake last year at this stage when we brought three players in. I think it just upset us. I definitely won’t be doing the same this year.”
Whether or not midfield maestro Marcus Maddison stays with the group remains to be seen.
“We’ll try to keep him. He’s such a special talent,” added McCann.
Posh went top of League One after Saturday’s Sixfields slaughter but McCann is refusing to get carried away and even announced he was unhappy afterwards because his side failed to keep a clean sheet once again.
He said: “No-one is getting carried away. We have four in a row but we need to dust ourselves down now.
“I’m more disappointed with the goal we conceded. I said to the boys at half-time ‘I want a clean sheet, we haven’t had one’. So I was disappointed we lost a goal.
“We’re quick on the break. The front three we have can run, can shift, can score goals. All three of them scored on Saturday and they are helping each other. It was a really good team performance.”
McCann was also delighted to see Jermaine Anderson make his first appearance for the club since September 2016 after recovering from a second serious knee injury.
“I was proud of my team but one thing I was really pleased to see was Jermaine Anderson getting on the pitch. The lad’s had a terrible time over the last 18 months with two cruciate injuries.
“The lads gave him a big round of applause in the changing room. It’s great to see him back because when he’s fit, we have one hell of a player.”
The clean sheet McCann had been asking for eventually arrived on Tuesday night when Posh began their Checkatrade Trophy campaign with a 2-0 win over Southampton Under 23s.
And the player between the sticks was debutant Conor O’Malley. Defender Liam Shephard, who replaced the lively Leo Da Silva Lopes for the last 15 minutes, also came on for his debut.
McCann said: “It was a great start for us.Technically Southampton were very good but we got the job done.
“It was good for Conor to keep a clean sheet on his first start, and also for Liam to make his debut. And I thought Idris Kanu was excellent.
“They’ve all given me something to think about now.”
Posh’s next game in the competition is on October 3 at home to Northampton.
Jermaine Anderson was back in action
Defender Liam Shephard made his debut
“The lads gave Jermaine a big round of applause in the changing room”