GRANT CANN BE POSH KEY – JOE
WING-BACK Joe Ward believes Peterborough have made a ‘great appointment’ in bringing manager Grant McCann back to the club – and is eager to work with him for longer this time around!
Ward was signed by the ex-Northern Ireland international during his first stint in charge of Peterborough, having impressed in two FA Cup ties for Non-League Woking against McCann’s team.
But the then rookie manager parted company with Posh a month later and Ward, now 26, is relishing the opportunity to work again with the person who kick-started his EFL career in a bid to climb clear of the Championship relegation zone.
“It’s a great appointment and I’m very happy to be playing under him again,” said Ward. “I was playing for Brighton Under-23s but the plan was to go to Woking with the intention of stepping back up.
Grateful
“The FA Cup has made some players’ careers and I did well in both games against Peterborough.
“Not long after, Grant took a chance on me, so I’ll be forever grateful to him for that.
“It was difficult that he left the club a month later but, in football, things change all the time and it can be unexpected.
“A few managers have passed through since, but he’s back now and just needs time to get to know the players and improve us.”
After leaving Posh, McCann, below, steered Doncaster into the League One play-offs and won the title in the same division with Hull before leading the Tigers away from Championship trouble this term.
Regardless of which division Peterborough will play in next season, therefore, Ward feels the club have recruited a boss who now has a proven record at both levels.
“You definitely learn more and get better as your career goes on with experience,” he said.
Respective runs of four and three successive victories in November and January saw McCann, reappointed by Posh two-anda-half weeks ago, guide Hull away from the danger zone this term before he was relieved of his duties following a change in ownership.
Ward remains hopeful he can inspire a similar sequence in his new job.
“At this moment in time, we need any sort of run and that needs to start with a couple of wins,” he said.
A lack of goals – Posh had managed just two in nine games pre-weekend – needs to be addressed for that to happen.
Ward is yet to score in the league this season but, as an 18-year-old hopeful, he once bagged the goal that saved his home-town club Chelmsford from National League South relegation.
On the hope of history repeating itself, he said: “That was unbelievable and that memory will stay with me forever.
“I also know that any goal now could be vital and we need to create and score more, including myself.”
Opportunity
One plus point for Peterborough, who picked up a hard-earned point from a 1-1 draw at promotion-chasing Bournemouth in midweek, as they fight to preserve their status is that six of their last ten games are at home. Heading into the weekend, Posh had collected 17 of their 22 points at London Road. Indeed, three of their next four games are at home and represent a golden opportunity to gain some ground on the sides above them. Peterborough host Swansea on Wednesday, Middlesbrough on April 2 and Luton on April 5, with just an away trip to QPR next Sunday in between. “We are definitely better at home and that will, hopefully, be an advantage,” said Ward.
“We have to keep believing and working hard to put in good performances by giving everything and fighting until the end.”