Darren Ferguson looks ahead to Saturday's meeting with promotion contenders Watford at London Road.
Peterborough United manager Darren Ferguson believes if Posh can collect nine points from their remaining home games they will have a great chance of staying in the Championship with the first meeting at London Road against Watford on Saturday afternoon (3pm).
The Posh boss admitted that it has not been their best season at London Road, but believes home form can still have a massive impact on avoiding relegation.
‘It can still play a big part on us having a good season,’ said Ferguson. ‘We won our last home game and if you pick up another nine points you’d be safe, that’s how we’re going to approach it. It remains really interesting and exciting going towards the end of the season, our aim is to try and stay unbeaten.
‘There are a lot of teams in it still; I think all the way up to 53 points aren’t safe, they can’t be because they’re only six points ahead of us. They’ll be twists and turns but we’ve got to take care of ourselves. We’ve got three, big, big home games. I think if we win our three home games we’ll be fine.’
Gianfranco Zola’s side are currently in the hunt for an automatic promotion spot and find themselves third in the table, three points behind Hull City. Ferguson knows it will be a tough test, and praised his fellow manager for the job he has done since taking over the reins at Vicarage Road.
‘They’re a very good team, very similar to ourselves in how they play,’ he explained. ‘They’ve got good players, good technical players, got a lot of pace in their team and you have to say Zola and his staff and players have done a very good job; they’ve had an excellent season.’
The Hornets transfer policy is a hot topic in the Football League, with many managers criticising the way the club has handled its business, but the Posh boss has no qualms with their use of the loan system.
‘You’ve got to have a knowledge of the players you’re bringing in,’ Ferguson added. ‘They’ve got a niche that they’ve used very well, managers and people may say they have an advantage over other teams but I don’t go along with that at all. If that’s the sort of market they delve in and deal with then so be it, they’ve done very well at it, there’s one thing having that in your locker, it’s another using wisely.’
One of those players is the Czech Republic international Matej Vydra, signed on loan from Italian club Udinese, he was named the Npower Championship Player of the Year and has already scored 20 goals this season, one of which was a late winner against Posh.
‘As the season’s gone on, they’ve gathered momentum but you’d like to think we have as well. I think we are a different team to the one that played down there. It will be a good football match, it may come down to who keeps the ball better and who retains possession better and that’s something I’ve got to be aware of. But I’m looking forward to it and it should be a good game,’ Ferguson concluded.