The Peterborough Evening Telegraph
POSH HIT TOP SPOT:
The Weston Homes Stadium has become a place League One clubs fear to tread, according to in-form Posh striker Sammie Szmodics.
Posh put their outstanding home record on the line against lowly Wigan Athletic on Saturday (3pm).
They’ve won 11 of their 14 home matches this season.
And Posh will go into the game full of confidence having surged to the top of the table with a 3-0 win at Plymouth Argyle on Tuesday.
Szmodics scored the opening goal in that game after striking twice in a 3-0 home win over AFC Wimbledon on Saturday.
“Teams are scared to play us at our place,” Szmodics said. “It’s the pitch and our own good form. We wanted to make it a place no-one wants to visit and it’s worked so far.”
Posh boss Darren Ferguson won’t let his players take Wigan lightly.
He said: “Wigan have some very good players and they are fighting for their lives.
“Every game is tough and this one is no exception.”
Posh, who are at play-off chasing Oxford United on Tuesday (7pm), have no fresh injury worries.
BIG MATCH REPORTS: TWO VERY COMFORTABLE WINS SEND POSH TO THE SUMMIT
Posh manager Darren Ferguson insists hitting top spot in League One towards the end of February as an irrelevance.
Comfortable 3-0 wins over AFC Wimbledon and Plymouth have lifted Posh to the top and the bookies have reacted by making Darren Ferguson’s men favourites to win the title.
The bookies are just following the facts. Posh have won five League One games in a row, they’ve won eight of their past 10 matches and suffered just one defeat in 2021.
Posh are now joint top scorers in the division, they have the best goal difference and they have the second best defensive record.
Individually Jonson Clarke-Harris is the top scorer in League One and Joe Ward is joint top of the goal assist charts.
But Ferguson refuses to get carried away.
“If we were just playing Saturday games there would be more time to look at the league table and reflect on how well we’re doing,” Ferguson stated.
“But the league is relentless this season. We finish one game, we review it and we move on. Of course you’d never turn being top of the table down, but it really doesn’t matter right now.
“All we are concentrating on is winning the next game. We need to continue our winning run for as long as possible. We are in a good place. Physically the players look strong and winning games certainly helps in that respect.
“All credit to the players though. We’ve been changing formations during games and making tactical suggestions during intervals and they have taken everything on board and carried out instructions perrfectly.
“In the last three games we’ve shot out of the blocks at the start of the second-half, scored and dominated right through to the end.
“We’ve delivered real moments of quality and I’m enjoying watching us play. All three goals at Plymouth were very good ones. The second goal was the best I’ve seen all season. It involved some outstanding passing and decision-making.”
Posh goalkeeping coach Mark Tyler sat on the substutes’ bench in the last two games because of Covid issues for back-ups Dan Gyollai and Will Blackmore.
Posh tried to re-sign former ‘keeper, and local lad, Luke Steele as cover, but he wasn’t allowed to join as he’d already played for the maximum three clubs this season - Stamford AFC, Peterborough Northern Star Reserves and Spalding Sunday League outfit Jubilee FC!
“It’s a FIFA rule apparently,” Posh director of football Barry Fry said. “Luke was heartbroken. He was going to join Swindon at one point, but he would have preferred to play for us as he wanted to give something back to the club that started his career, a bit like Matthew Etherington and Simon Davies have done.
“We’d agreed a deal with Luke and we had a shirt ready for him, but it all fell through.”
Gyollai should be back for the League One visit of Wigan on Saturday.
Ferguson: ‘I’m enjoying watching us play.”