Thursday 25 October 2012
Drive BBC Radio Cambridgeshire
CHRIS MANN: Darren Ferguson has confirmed that Posh have held talks with a young striker about joining the Club in the summer. However Fergie insists the player is yet to put pen to paper with the Club. Posh beat Huddersfield on Tuesday, before jumping another place in the League, thanks to Blackburn’s win over Sheffield Wednesday last night. So ahead of the weekend clash with Derby, Fergie is in confident mood. (TAPE)
DARREN FERGUSON: The win on Tuesday lifted us above Ipswich, and then Blackburn beating Sheffield Wednesday, on goal difference we go above them. So it looks better than being at the bottom. There’s no doubt about that. But if we can back it up on Saturday and get another victory, then we could possibly be out of the bottom three.
NICK FAIRBAIRN: Is it pychologically important as well, jumping a couple of places?
DARREN FERGUSON: For me, not really. The players, maybe. For me it’s just always the target’s the points. And if you get to a certain amount of points, you’re pretty certain you’ll be in the league next year. And that’s never changed for me. I think Tuesday was important because it was our first home win. And the manner of it, it was probably our best performance, or it was our most convincing victory I have to say. It was a very very good performance from the team.
NICK FAIRBAIRN: Yes. You reproduce that on a regular basis and you should be fine. And the trick is to do that. Straight away I guess the fans will be up for it, won’t they? The fans I would imagine will be very confident, and Derby come here this Saturday.
DARREN FERGUSON: Yes. It’s another tough game as you say. But it looks now we know that if we get performances like that we’ll win games. Not always, but we’ll definitely give teams a game. One or two things we tweaked that definitely worked in our favour. I think our front three caused them no end of trouble, which we spoke about. And I thought they played very well.
NICK FAIRBAIRN: I’ve got to ask you about Mark Little, if I may. Because he remains on the transfer list, but I know you were full of praise for him on Tuesday. I know the fans were as well. Is it getting a tougher and tougher decision to keep him on there?
DARREN FERGUSON: No. I think the situation is any contract negotiations won’t be taking place at the moment. It’s not the right time. It’s not the correct time. We’ll see how the season develops. It’s not affecting Mark Little obviously, because his performances have been fairly solid. And I thought on Tuesday night, him and Kgosi, once they got in the positions, Mark in particular, he did cause them problems. There was no doubt about that. In fact they took the left back off. It’s not really the right time. I can’t comment any further than that really.
NICK FAIRBAIRN: Ok, I’ll bring Kgosi into it as well. He was, as you say, excellent. Were you .. relieved’s not the right word, but you must have been delighted that he stepped in so capably in the absence of Tommy, who’s been a real influence of late.
DARREN FERGUSON: I think the break’s helped Kgosi. He’s played at the start of the season, and now he’s come out, and he looked fresh. He looked (as if) he had a lot of energy about him. I think it probably helped him. And that’s key to players coming out, going back in. And I’ve said it time and time again. The Chairman and I were together yesterday. It is the strongest squad we’ve had. There’s no doubt about that. Me keep saying that probably puts myself under more pressure, but I think it is the strongest. I think you look at the bench we’ve got, and I’m very very pleased with that at the moment.
NICK FAIRBAIRN: Mendez-Laing, we mentioned him I think last week. He can’t get on the bench at the moment. How’s he taking that? I guess any player wants to play, but is he Ok with that?
DARREN FERGUSON: No. He’s not happy. He’s not going to be happy. I wouldn’t expect him to be happy. But I had a good chat with Mendez yesterday. It’s easier to manage the players that are playing. It’s the ones that are not, and I’ve got to be on top of that all the time. It’s a big part of my job. And I have been, to be fair, in terms of speaking to them regularly, reminding them they’ve got to keep doing the good things. And I think good examples are there. I though Lee Tomlin was excellent On Tuesday. He’s been on a fitness regime. He’s lost 3 per cent body fat. He’s been flying in training. And that’s a good example to others. You’ve got to keep doing it. And I spoke to Lee before the Watford game that look, what you’re doing’s been good, and it’s only a matter of time before you get back in. Then you’ve got to stay in. And I think it’s good the players know that people can step into the positions. It keeps a healthy challenge for everyone.
NICK FAIRBAIRN: Do you feel that was the main issue for Tomlin, his fitness and sharpness?
DARREN FERGUSON: Not really. I just felt that one or two games he didn’t perform to the standards he set. But I thought Tuesday was excellent. It’s perceived that he’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but the boy’s a proper player. There’s no question about that. His ability is absolutely superb, as good ability as anyone in the building. And he’s just got to keep consistent. I’m a big fan of Lee’s in terms of that he’s the sort of player I look for. He’s different. He’s creative. And he gets the other side of his game. Everyone’s got more natural attributes, strengths, than others. But Tomlin worked really hard Tuesday, and played very very well. If he can repeat that, then we know we’ve got a player.
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