The Peterborough Evening Telegraph
Players warned to put City tie to the back of their minds
Nathan Thompson says concentrate on the league matches
Peterborough United have received the dream FA Cup draw of a home fifth round tie against Premier League champions Manchester City, but the club has more important matters to deal with before then.
Posh will host City’s galaxy of superstars, probably on either March 1 or March 2, but they have six vital matches in their battle against relegation from the Championship before they can even start preparing for the glamour game.
The first of those matches took place at Cardiff City on Wednesday night and reports and reaction can be found on www.peterboroughtoday. co.uk.
Posh defender Nathan Thompson’s reaction to the City tie was one of excitement, but he was also at pains to ensure the players concentrate on the real priority this season - Championship survival.
Thompson said: “The City game is something for us to look forward to in what has been a difficult season.
“The tie will be a welcome distraction, but we know our priority is to win our relegation dogfight.
“We have some big games coming up against teams around us in the table. We are facing a huge couple of weeks and the next four or five games will be pivotal for our season.
“We will get a big lift if we can win some big games before we play City.
“If we manage that we can at least go into the game against a ridiculously talented team with some confidence.
“I watched them play against my old club Swindon in the third round and they have scary ability and they take every competition they play in very seriously.
“They will field a very strong side against us.
“But it’s some light at the end of the tunnel. We get to showcase our talents. The exposure for our younger players will be fantastic, but we can’t get away from the fact we need to get some league points before then.
“We’ve had too many false dawns this season when we’ve followed up good results with poor performances.
“The training ground can be a depressing place when you are not winning games.
“We are a very good side on our day, but we have to find some consistency.”
Posh boss Darren Ferguson welcomed the tie as a boost in a difficult season, but for now he is pleased with last weekend’s fourth round win over QPR, believing the 2-0 success could give his side a much-needed confidence boost ahead of a huge month.
Joe Ward and Ricky-Jade Jones scored the goals to give Posh their second win over QPR at London Road this season.
Ferguson said: “It was a great result for us. It was something we needed after a difficult month.
“We kept a clean sheet which was also needed and we beat a very good side who have been in very good form.
“In the second-half we played like I want us to play, with intensity, pressing and aggression and we scored a high quality goal from Ricky.
“It was a strong, resilient, determined all-round performance and the result was the most important thing, but I was also frustrated.
“We rode our luck a bit in the first-half from set-pieces and we had nowhere near enough energy.
“But we showed there is plenty of fight left in us and I’m pleased for the players as they‘ve had a tough time.”
Joe Ward scored his first goal of the season for Posh against QPR.