Posh travel to Bramall Lane to face Sheffield United on Saturday.
Peterborough United travel to in-form Sheffield United in Sky Bet League One action on Saturday (3pm) knowing that a victory at Bramall Lane will consolidate their position in the top six of the division.Posh go into the clash on the back of two successive 2-2 draws while the Blades have seen an upturn in fortunes after a poor start to the campaign under Chris Wilder.
"A lot of teams probably travel to Bramall Lane with a bit of fear inside them,” McCann stated. “They are beaten before they get there, but that won’t be the case for us.
“Sheffield do have a strong squad with good players in every position, and they have had success since they switched to a formation that clearly suits them.
“It’s a great stadium and there will be a big passionate crowd behind them, but we have won there in the last two seasons so there’s no reason why we can’t win there again. We will be positive as always. We will concentrate as much on how we can hurt them as we will on stopping them hurting us."
The Posh boss is without the services of midfielder Jermaine Anderson due to a long-term injury and spoke in the media this week about using his misfortune as a motivation.
"It upset me that much. I said to the lads to see that boy come back from an ACL injury and do the same in the other knee is frightening. I don't want to see anyone coming in with their heads down, just look at Jermaine. He would give anything to be out there, training and playing games. We will use it as a motivation," McCann said.
Striker Lee Angol and midfielder Brad Inman are long-term absentees for Posh, while defender Andrew Hughes is suspended after the appeal against his dismissal against Port Vale failed.
Sheffield United are expected to welcome back Chris Basham from injury for the clash with Posh, while boss Wilder has talked up John Fleck's abilities in midfield. Former Posh midfield man Paul Coutts has been excellent in recent weeks for the Blades.
The fixture is all-ticket for Posh fans with just under 800 sold in advance of Friday. Tickets will be on sale until 3pm on Friday from the ABAX Stadium Box Office, online at www.theposhtickets.com and via the Ticketmaster hotline 0844 847 1934*.
*calls cost 7ppm plus your network access fee.
The Sheffield United supporters will hold a minute's applause for former player Reg Matthewson who passed away recently. The fans will mark his passing on the 6th minute as he played in the number 6 shirt for most of his career at the club.