The Peterborough Evening Telegraph
Darragh determined to keep Fergie on board
Peterborough United chairman Darragh MacAnthony wants current manager Darren Ferguson to stay at the ABAX Stadium beyond the end of this season.
It’s an early vote of confidence for a manager who has yet to spark the improvement required for Posh to reach the League One play-offs.
Posh have won two and lost five of their seven League One matches - and dropped a place to seventh - since Ferguson replaced Steve Evans as first-team boss at the end of January.
Posh have lost to the bottom two teams, Bradford City and AFC Wimbledon, in their last two League One matches.
But MacAnthony is convinced Ferguson can return the glory days to the club.
Ferguson is the most successful manager in Posh history having won three promotions and he was the last manager to steer Posh to a League One play-off place in the 2013-14 season.
He also managed Posh to a Johnstone’s Paint Trophy final win at Wembley in 2014 - all the successes arrived during MacAnthony’s 12-year reign at the club.
MacAnthony also revealed why he sacked Evans when Posh were still sitting in a playoff place.
“Anyone watching us 100% knew we were coming out of the play-offs,” MacAnthony stated.
“Our home form was the worst I’ve known in all my time as owner. After the investment in the pitch and the facilities there was a need to grow crowds so that just wouldn’t do.
“It (employing Evans) was worth a try. It didn’t work for us. We moved on.
“And let’s be honest Darren is a massive improvement bar results. I have massive faith in him, the way he works and more importantly I have absolute trust in him as well. He’s the best manager our club has had in my era for sure.
“Darren knows how to win promotion, how to play football, how to produce youngsters from our Academy into the first team, how to work with our club policy and how to motivate and work with younger players.
“And he doesn’t moan night and day about what he doesn’t have and he is great to work with.
“Myself and my partners would love Darren and Gavin Strachan (coach) to take on the job long term properly and implement the policies we all believe in for the immediate future and I’m working on him constantly to make this happen.
“Darren likes lots of lads in the squad for the talent they have and is hard at it coaching them to play a different way to previously. He likes lots of the squad, but if he stays he will be backed to improve on it in key areas.”
Ferguson replaced Evans on a short term contract until the end of the season and appears to be keen to extend his stay into next season.
Ferguson said: “We’re planning to sit down with the owners and with Bary Fry at the end of the month.
“Our future won’t depend on results this season as it’s a long-term project the club is planning.
“I’m enjoying being back. The players have had to get used to different styles of training session and also used to the way I want to play.
“They seem to be enjoying it as well even if we haven’t had as many wins as we’d have liked.
“There have been reasons for that though.”