The Peterborough Evening Telegraph
Can Posh win enough games to beat the drop? Probably not!
There are always positives to be found if you look hard enough, although making a case for Posh to stay up this season would test Rumpole of the Bailey.
On the surface Posh have just completed their two toughest remaining Championship fixtures at top three sides Huddersfield and Bournemouth and actually moved a point closer to safety, as well as using up their game in hand.
It’s obviously perm any three from Grant McCann’s men, Derby County, Reading and Barnsley for the drop and has been for some time with Posh red hot favourites to go down (1/16 with Sky Bet!) as they have a seven-point gap to bridge (effectively eight points given a terrible goal difference) and three teams to overtake.
Never say never though and is it possible a May miracle could happen and Posh stay up on the final day of the season by beating Blackpool at the Weston Homes Stadium?
Here is our assessment of the relegation rivals and their chances of survival.
POSH Positives
Seven of their 11 remaining Championship matches are at home where they have been less bad this season.
They have games against teams who will have very lit
tle to play for including Stoke, Swansea, Bristol City and Blackpool.
They still have Barnsley to play and star midfielder Jack Taylor is back.
Negatives
Posh have scored just one home goal in the Championship since beating Millwall 2-1 on December 11 so seven home games might not count for a lot.
Posh have the worst current form of any of the bottom four and the games against QPR, Middlesbrough, Forest and MIllwall can probably be written off.
The Barnsley game is away and Taylor could well get injured again.
DERBY Positives
The Rams have great goodwill behind them as they attempt to escape despite 21 penalty points. Their last three matches look very winnable.
The Pride Park crowd is almost worth a goal start. Derby have lost just three games at home all season.
They have one of the Championship’s better attacking players in Tom Lawrence. He missed three games after getting sent off against Posh and Derby lost them all while scoring only once.
Negatives
Derby don’t have a reliable goalscoring striker. Lawrence is their top scorer with nine goals, Centre-back Curtis Davies is next best with four.
READING Positives
Striker Lucas Joao missed the first four months of the season. Since returning he has six goals in 11 starts. He is the best forward in the camps of the relegation rivals by some distance.
Reading score goals. Their tally of 42 is bettered by only two teams in the bottom half of the table. It is six goals more than Derby have managed and 17 more that Posh and Barnsley.
NEGATIVES
They appointed Paul Ince as manager last month. It’s his first managerial job for eight years and his career probably peaked 14 years ago at MK Dons.
They concede too many goals. Their tally of 68 conceded is only two fewer than Posh and 29 more than Derby and even 17 more than Barnsley.
BARNSLEY Positives
They have the best current form over the last six games than their relegation rivals. they suddenly have hope of a great escape. Even Carlton Morris started scoring.
They still have Reading and Posh to play at home.
Negatives
They are not very good. Morris is their joint top scorer with four goals the same as Cauley Woodrow who hasn’t played since December 11.
They have manager unused to English football.