Peterborough United boss Darren Ferguson was less than pleased with his side’s performance last night as the Posh bowed out of the EFL Cup in the third round on penalties against League Two outfit Mansfield Town.
Mansfield opened the scoring from the penalty spot through Will Swan but a Jonson Clarke-Harris brace before the 50th minute put Ferguson’s men ahead and with one foot in the fourth round.
However, a Clarke-Harris foul in the penalty area handed the Stags a lifeline in the third minute of injury time, one which was taken by Luke Akins as he levelled for Nigel Clough’s men, sending the game straight to a shootout.
It was on penalties that the League Two side came out on top, maintaining their unbeaten run this season and reaching the EFL Cup fourth round for just the second time in the club’s history.
Peterborough United have picked up just one victory in their last five outings in League One and have now exited the League Cup despite being the favourites to win at Field Mill.
After the game, manager Ferguson didn’t hold back and pondered whether he should have gotten rid of the entire squad after last season’s collapse at Hillsborough.
Speaking in his post-match press conference, the 51-year-old said [quotes via The Star]:
“It’s staggering or maybe it’s not for this group of players. Maybe I shouldn’t be surprised… I don’t like criticising my players in public, but I’m not letting them get away with that. They absolutely bottled it.
“As soon as the game got tough, we went under and it disgusts me to say that. I’m not defending that.
“A lot of them are still here from Hillsborough, maybe I should have got rid of the whole lot of them because a lot of them who couldn’t handle it then are still here,” he continued.
“I don’t know why I should work with them when they do that. What’s the point? They don’t deserve it… The main credential you need as a footballer is character and, when it’s tough, they need to roll their sleeves up and keep playing the way we want to play.”
Writer’s View
Ferguson certainly didn’t mince his words after an embarrassing exit from the League Cup but it was a highly emotional and slightly irrational interview from the Posh head coach.
Ultimately, it is his responsibility to ensure that the players have recovered from last season’s disaster against Sheffield Wednesday but, on the other hand, the players must also have some self-pride, something that wasn’t on show last night from the visitors.
