Fergie’s side currently aspire to be mediocre

Just a couple of hundred over 5,000 Peterborough United fans bothered to turn up for this big play-off battle.

They’ve seen it all before. Promising starts that evaporate after Christmas and send Posh spinning to a midtable finish.

They’re certainly not fooled by a League One table that still suggests an exciting end to the season is ahead.

Posh are within a win of the play-off places on sufferance as the rest of the division from Charlton downwards are swimming in a sea of mediocrity.

But ‘mediocre’ is something Posh currently aspire to. Five wins in 22 League One matches is a damning comment on a season that started so well.

Anyone fancying a bet on a team catching Doncaster and finishing sixth could do worse than look at Coventry.

They were in a battle for 40 minutes at the ABAX Stadium, but once taking the lead through Amadou Bakayoko they became convincing winners. The final scoreline, one distorted by a first Posh goal for Louis Reed in the 98th minute, flattered only the hosts.

Bright Enobakhare added a second goal soon after the re-start after defending that would have shamed a Sunday morning side and only a wrongly disallowed goal and the failure to spot Lee Tomlin kicking an opponent in the eye inside the penalty area stopped Coventry romping to an even more decisive win.

And yet Posh started well. The attacking players linked up impressively and, although Coventry were also denied goals by Posh ‘keeper Conor O’Malley and the woodwork in the first-half, visiting ‘keeper Lee Burge was also forced to save well from Callum Cooke and Matt Godden to keep the score goalless.

But Ben White’s sloppiness in possession led to the opening goal and, rather embarrassingly, a huge punt downwind by Burge was too much for White and Dan Lafferty to handle. After that second goal Posh simply fell apart on the way to a third straight defeat.

‘Embarrassing,’ said manager Darren Ferguson and no-one argued.

Coventry could easily have romped to a much bigger win.

Daniel Lafferty is dejected after Posh lost to Coventry.