Posh under 18s face Wigan Athletic at the idverde Training Ground on Saturday morning (11am).
The Peterborough United under 18s will look to continue their fine recent form when they welcome Wigan Athletic to the idverde Training Ground in the Professional Development League on Saturday morning (11am).
Posh are second in the table after four straight league victories while the Latics are second from bottom without a win in the last four games. However, despite those statistics, manager Jamal Campbell-Ryce is warning his side against any complacency.
“It is about keeping the lads grounded, we don’t want the players to get above their station because they have won a few games. Every game is a difficult one at the level that we are playing. Wigan are not having the best of times at the moment, but we need to make sure that our performance level doesn’t drop.
“We have to continue to do the basics first and foremost and then we can try and hurt them in the attacking third with the quality that we have. I think the key to what we have achieved recently has been down to those basics, we have been outrunning the opposition, for me that is non-negotiable, but it still has to be done.
“You have to be able to work hard, graft and not give up and to be fair to the players, they have done that and showed their quality in the final third. Hopefully that will continue and we have to do that on Saturday if we are going to get the right result,” Campbell-Ryce said.
Midfielder Harry Titchmarsh has scored three goals in the last four league fixtures and Campbell-Ryce is delighted with his goal-scoring exploits after challenging him to improve in that particular area just after the Christmas break.
“To be fair, whichever number eight we have played in there recently has done really well, but Harry has been scoring goals and providing plenty of energy from that area of the pitch. He has been recognising spaces, he has been timing his runs and he has been getting his rewards. I challenged him after Christmas to try and get himself some goals and to be fair he has taken that on board and has begun to contribute in that area.”
Posh are without the services of Gabriel Overton and Joel Odei-Labri due to injury, while Hungarian youth international János Bodnár is also side-lined, although he is currently out on-loan. Campbell-Ryce admitted one other player is an injury concern, but he is hopeful that the medical team can get him ready and available for selection.