Ferguson urges fans to stick with struggling Posh
- Published
Peterborough United boss Darren Ferguson has called on supporters to keep faith in his young team despite a run of three successive defeats.
Ferguson guided Posh to the play-offs in the last two seasons, but they have lost half of their League One games in the current campaign and are 15th in the table.
Two of the three defeats in the current run were to teams below them - Burton Albion and Nene derby rivals Northampton Town.
"It's a challenge we've got. If we can come out the other side of it, it will stand them in good stead," Ferguson told BBC Radio Cambridgeshire.
"Nine defeats in 18 games tells its own story. I'm disappointed and frustrated, but I've still got a lot of belief in the players, and as a manager, I've got to make sure I pick them up and keep the confidence in them.
"We're going to take a load of criticism, quite rightly, but I urge the fans to stick with this young team.
He continued: "The most important thing in football is always results. People have very short memories in football. Look at Man City; they're getting written off. They've won seven or eight Premierships; no one remembers yesterday, and at the moment we're in a bad position."
Peterborough have struggled defensively for much of the season following the departures of Ronnie Edwards, Harrison Burrows and Josh Knight over the summer.
They have conceded 32 goals in the league - only bottom club Shrewsbury have let in more - but their total of 33 scored is bettered only by leaders Wycombe.
Ferguson changed three of his back four for Tuesday's game at Northampton, but they went down 2-1 after Cameron McGeehan scored his second of the game for the Cobblers in the 84th minute.
"They didn't really cause us too many problems, set-pieces now and again, but the second goal, I don't see other teams doing that," the Scot said.
"All we can do is keep working, keep working, and keep working. It's an unusual position for us to be in in this league, but not every season can you be up there challenging. And at the moment, we're not even thinking about that; all we're thinking about is the next game."
Centre-half Oscar Wallin was rested from the matchday squad at Northampton, having been signed in the summer, mid-way through the season, with Degerfors in his native Sweden.
Ferguson added: "He's now played 45 games; that's a full season. I've got to rest him. I can't keep playing him.
"The game against Burton, you could see he was tired, and he was a bit ill as well. There's no way I can keep on playing him, or he'll end up playing 70 games."