Stevenage boss Steve Evans has backed his former club Peterborough United to achieve automatic promotion this season ahead of their midweek League One clash.
Evans, who had an uninspiring spell managing Peterborough between February 2018 and January 2019, now has his Stevenage side in a remarkable sixth place. His direct style of football can cause trouble for even the highest-level operators, so Boro travel to the Weston Holmes Stadium on Wednesday with every hope of closing the gap to Posh to just four points.
However, Peterborough themselves seem to have re-found their mojo under Darren Ferguson after four straight defeats to begin February threatened to end their promotion hopes. Since then, though, they have won five in a row in all competitions and are back in the conversation for the top two.
Posh defeated Burton Albion 3-1 at the Pirelli Stadium on Saturday with a fantastic second-half performance, which even saw a first goal since December for former League One Golden Boot winner Jonson Clarke-Harris.
Evans, who has won just two of his ten meetings with Darren Ferguson, was full of praise for his fellow Scotsman [quotes via the Peterborough Telegraph]:
“We are facing a magician of a manager who has his team playing great football.
“I said after we drew 2-2 with them at our place that they would go up automatically and I still believe that now. They have some class players who are also hungry and full of desire so we know we will need to be at our best to get something on Wednesday.
“We will come up with a plan to stop them though. We know we will be up against it at times and we will need some luck, but I know I can win there with this team like I have in the past with Rotherham and Gillingham.”
The 61-year-old was also keen to praise the job he and his players have already done this season but insisted Boro’s battle is not with Posh:
“We are not really competing with Peterborough for promotion. We have our own mini league with Oxford, Blackpool, Leyton Orient and Lincoln and we are top at the moment and confident of staying there.
“What we have achieved already is incredible. If the league was based on budgets we’d be in the bottom three rather than in the top six. At the start of the season no-one would have tipped us to be above any of those teams we are fighting against for a play-off place.
“As I said I don’t think Peterborough will be in those play-offs and I hope they aren’t because I want them to go up, but we will be out to stop that runaway train on Wednesday.”
Evans will watch the match from the stands, though, as he completes a two-match touchline ban for his accumulation of seven yellow cards this campaign.
Writer’s View
Evans could well believe in his former side’s quality but there are no doubts he believes his team can go and get a win away at Peterborough United on Wednesday. With the Sky Sports cameras on both sides, it is likely to be a cagey affair with Boro often looking not to lose these big away matches before they try to be victorious.
Moments from the big players could be key to winning this one with two of the league’s best attackers facing each other. Peterborough winger Ephron Mason-Clark has three in his last four while Stevenage marksman Jamie Reid has 17 on his tally thus far. Whatever happens, it is set to be a pivotal night for two of League One’s best teams.
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