The Peterborough Evening Telegraph
Skipper not sure of his midfield spot
First goalscorer: 4/1 Godden (Posh), Hylton (Luton), Collins (Luton), 9/2 Cummings (Posh), Toney (Posh), 5/1 Cooper (Posh), O’Hara (Posh), Jervis (Luton), 6/1 Cornick (Luton), Lee (Luton), Grant (Luton), 7/1 Dembele (Posh), Cooke (Posh), 8/1 Ruddock (Luton), 10/1 Ward (Posh), 16/1 Tafazolli (Posh), Daniel (Posh), 20/1 Naismith (Posh), Bradley (Luton), Bennett (Posh), Pearson (Luton).
Captain Alex Woodyard won’t let his Peterborough United team-mates become complacent or over-confident despite an excellent start to the League One season.
Posh head into Saturday’s contest with Luton Town at the ABAX Stadium sitting pretty in joint second place after two wins in two matches.
But Woodyard, a veteran of long, successful campaigns at Lincoln City in recent seasons, will play his part in keeping Posh feet firmly planted on the ground.
“Successful teams stay level-headed whether they are winning or losing,” Woodyard said.
“It’s vital players don’t get too high when we win or too low when we lose.
“We’ve started well, but it’s only a start. We will need to be consistent for a long period to get where we want to go.”
Woodyard was one of 16 summer signings made by Posh. He believes the club’s strength in depth will be crucial as the season wears on and he doesn’t believe his place in the midfield starting line-up is secure just because he wears an armband.
“The depth of the squad is unbelievable,” Woodyard added. “I’m happy with how it’s gone for me, but the fact I’m skipper won’t keep me in the side.
“There are some excellent players battling for every position so we will all have to play well to keep our shirts.
“I’m enjoying playing with Mark O’Hara though. We complement each other well.
“He’s much more attackminded than me and to score three goals in his first two games is outstanding, but he does his fair share of defensive work as well.
“We’ve only played a handful of games together, but we’re getting on well.”
Posh manager Steve Evans insists Luton will be a level above Bristol Rovers and Rochdale, the two teams beaten by his side so far this season.
“Luton are very good,” Evans stated. “They play good football, they will be wellcoached and they will be well supported.
“I expect us to be playing in front of a big crowd on Saturday and we will experience a great atmosphere and I am confident we will cope with everything.
“They are a big part of why I said we had been handed a very tough start to the season.”
Posh are at Charlton in League One on Tuesday (April 21). These teams haven’t met in a Football League match at London Road since the 2004-05 League One season. That game finished all square at 2-2 with Calum Willock scoring twice for Posh and Luton equalising late on through Steve Howard.
Posh: Tyler, St Ledger, Branston, Ireland, Plummer, Newton, Legg, Farrell, Thomson, Willock, Purser. Subs used: Sonner, Semple, Logan.
Posh have only won one of nine home Football League meetings against Luton and that was 53 years ago in the old Division Three when goals from Derek Dougan and Ollie Conmy secured a 2-0 win in front of 12,946 fans.
Posh: Duff, Cooper, Birks, Rankmore, Orr, Crowe, Barnes, Conmy, Dougan, Deakin, McNamee.
Posh had famously beaten Arsenal 2-1 in a home FA Cup tie in front of over 30,000 fans the previous week. Luton went for quality over quantity as far as squad strengthening was concerned following their promotion from League Two last season. Attacking midfielder Jorge Grant moved to Kenilworth Road from Nottingham Forest after impressing on loan at Notts County last season, while imposing centre-back Sonny Bradley arrived after a strong season at Plymouth.
Twin strikers Danny Collins and Danny Hylton scored 43 goals between them last season, but have weak overall records at League One level. Former Plymouth striker Jake Jervis is on hand should the big two fail to find form.
Left-back Alan Sheehan is a high-class set-piece taker, while goalkeeper Marek Stech is a reliable sort. Luton, promoted as League Two runners-up, have endured a tough start to the new season having already played likely promotion contenders Portsmouth and Sunderland. They lost narrowly at Pompey, but fought back to secure a decent home draw with Sunderland.
Luton made numerous changes to their starting line-up for the Carabao Cup tie at West Brom on Tuesday, but they battled hard before losing to a second-half goal. Nathan Jones has excelled in his sole managerial job so far.
Luton took him from the Brighton coaching staff in January, 2016 and he steered The Hatters to promotion from League Two 30 months later after failing at the play-off semi-final stage in his first full season.
Jones has managed Luton in 139 competitive matches and won 68, while losing just 33.
Jones, who has ambitions of managing Wales, signed a fresh four-year contract at Kenilworth Road last January. “I want to work at the highest level,” Jones said. “And I’ll either do it or die trying. I believe in the work I do, the tactical awareness I have. I don’t think many work better than we do.”