Conor can become a star striker in the Championship

Graham Westley is convinced he can turn Conor Washington into a Championshipstandard striker. Washington came under fire from Posh fans after missing a succession of scoring chances in the 3-2 League One defeat at Coventry last Saturday.

Washington’s finishing ruined some outstanding aproach work from the 23 year-old who has just three goals to his name this season, the same number as central defender Gaby Zakuani.

Washington’s c a r e e r record of 29 goals in 129 appearances (87 starts) doesn’t suggest Posh have a potentially prolific striker on their hands, but Westley has a different opinion.

“Conor was outstanding at times at Coventry,” Westley insisted. “Stage one of his development is to improve as a player which he has done

“Stage two is to improve his finishing which I have no doubts he will also do.

“Conor has shown me in training what he is capable of and I see a player capable of being a top League One striker and someone who can play even higher.

“He can become one of the best forwards in League One. I have no doubt about that.

“I am confident I can help to continue his development as I have helped to improve strikers before. I had Simeon Jackson with me at Rushden and he improved with us. I also had Steve Morison at Stevenage and he improved quickly.

“Conor Washington has the right attitude for a start. He works hard and he wants to listen and learn. We have a very good player on our hands and it’s up to me and my staff to get the best out of him.”

Westley accepted a share of the blame for the Coventry result as, for the second successive season at the Ricoh Arena, Posh threw away a two-goal half-time lead before accepting a painful defeat.

“I didn’t manage my substitutions well,” Westley admitted. “I introduced a player (Jack Collison) with technical ability when I needed players with good athleticism.

“That’s not a slight on the player who went on, but in that particular situation I should have made a better choice.

“We still played some fantastic football though against one of the best sides in the division. We fell just short in the end, but the mistakes we are making, particularly defensively, are easy to correct.

“We had a defensive overflow for every goal we con- ceded at Coventry, but we just need to tweak a couple of things so that we improve.

“We are the top scorers of any team in the Premier League and the Football League so we must be doing something right.”

Coventry manager Tony Mowbray was full of praise for the Posh performance. He said Posh were one of the top sides in the division - even though they have slipped into the bottom half of the table following Bradford’s midweek win over Blackpool. Posh were this week linked with a move for Derry City midfielder Patrick McEleney. The Derry Journal said the 23 year-old playmaker was due to start a trial at Posh as soon as the League of Ireland season finished last Friday (October 30).

McEleney had a trial with Championship side Brentford earlier this year.

Westley and Posh chairman Darragh MacAnthony will take part in a fans’ forum at Ebeneezers, Woodston next Thursday (November 12, 6.30pm for a 7.30 start).

The evening has been organised by fans’ group PISA2000 with all proceeds going towards the ‘Chris Turner statue’ fund. It’s free entry for PISA members, £1 for nonmembers.

Jack Collison was ill-suited the to the tempo of the Coventry game. Chris Forrester

was taken ill during the game at

Coventry. Graham Westley: “I have helped several

striker develop.”