Darren Ferguson looks back at the draw with UCD and comments on the departure of Dwight Gayle.
Peterborough United Darren Ferguson was pleased to see his side come back from 2-0 down to earn a 2-2 draw with UCD on Wednesday evening and praised the younger members of the squad for their performances at the UCD Bowl.
The Posh boss was not pleased with the way the two goals were conceded, but put that down to general 'rustiness'.
‘You always take the positives out of any performance and there were positives to take from the game. I am glad we came back to 2-2 because I don’t want to lose in any game and Nicky Ajose popped up with two good goals. The two goals that we conceded was down to rustiness, but they were still poor goals to concede.
‘The pitch was really sticky, which didn’t really help how we wanted to play, but I am not going to use that as an excuse. UCD play football the right way, I was pleased with the way they got the ball down, like ourselves.
'There were some good performances from the younger lads and I am not surprised by that because they are good players. I said to them after that as long as they understand how I want to play and getting in between the lines, then I am happy.
‘Let’s be honest, we are only a week into pre-season, the games have come early, but I have seen a good level of fitness, we have got no injuries now and the players understand what we want to do this season and where we want to go.
We are here until Saturday and then we have a full week until the next fixture and I am pleased about that, it gives us time to work on a few things on the training pitch. We have a big week, we should see a difference in the QPR game, but the season is up and running. There is always that excitement when matches come around, even in pre-season,' Ferguson said.
Ferguson also wished departing striker Dwight Gayle well in the Premier League after the former Dagenham and Redbridge man completed his move to Crystal Palace.
‘The figure for Dwight Gayle is a really good one and I have to say that the chairman and Barry have worked extremely hard. It is a good deal for the football club and fair play to the club because they have always said they wouldn’t sell him unless it was a lot of money and it has proved to be a hell of a lot of money.
‘We can invest that money back into the team and back into the football club so we go into the season in a good position financially. Obviously we want success, but being in a good shape financially is the key. Myself and the chairman have spoken and it doesn’t put any pressure on me to sell anyone, even those entering the last year of their contracts.
We may try and get one, maybe two into the club but we are going to take our time, I want to see how these lads do,' Ferguson said.