Darren Ferguson admits he'll have one eye on Derby as his Peterborough side face Bristol Rovers

Peterborough United manager Darren Ferguson has admitted that he will be keeping one eye on the events at the Abbey Stadium on Saturday afternoon as Derby County face Cambridge United while his Posh side take on Bristol Rovers at the Mem and that will impact what he does in the game.

Peterborough have a slim chance of still sneaking a second place finish and ultimately earning the second automatic promotion spot with Derby firmly in the driving seat. Paul Warne was at the Mem on Tuesday night to watch Cambridge lose 1-0 to Rovers with his side able to secure promotion to the Championship with a victory and results elsewhere going their way. Even though Posh have a game in hand, a victory for the Rams will all-but seal their return to the second tier, regardless of how Peterborough do against the Gas and Bolton Wanderers fare at home to Port Vale.

With that the reality Ferguson's men face, it looks extremely likely that they will have to go down the play-off route which could impact how the Scotsman manages his team selection for tomorrow's game in BS7 with the Peterborough manager admitting: "We do have one or two carrying knocks and one or two also need a break, but I also have to remember this is still an important game.

"It’s very unlikely, but we can still finish in the top two and if we win, and Derby don’t, we have a chance of taking things to the last game. I will be keeping in touch with how Derby are doing because that will influence what I do during our game.

"It’s a very difficult balancing act. I have to be mindful of not picking up muscle injuries, but whatever team I pick will be strong and I want us to start positively to give us the best chance of getting a result. The most important thing for us is to win because if we don’t the top two will be gone anyway.

"After Saturday is over I can then make a selection decision re the Cheltenham game."

There are a few murmurs coming from the Peterborough side of things that former Rovers striker Jonson Clarke-Harris could be in line for a rare start back at the Mem on Saturday with it now over seven months since his failed return.

The 29-year-old was on the verge of re-joining the Gas for a record fee on deadline day last summer but the move wasn't completed in time and, having not sealed a transfer away in January, remains a Posh player with a free transfer this summer seemingly likely.

Clarke-Harris still has a decent goals return despite starting just 17 games across all competitions, netting 13 with two of those coming from the bench in a 4-1 victory over Fleetwood Town on Tuesday night.

On the striker and Rovers, Ferguson said: "It’s just circumstantial that Jonno is going back to the club that sold him to us and the club that almost signed him last summer. It certainly won’t bother him and he had a real impact on the game the other night by scoring twice and setting another goal up.

"He’s always in my thoughts and why wouldn’t he be? He’s probably still our best finisher, but the dynamics in our team have changed and we went with a quicker number nine this season.

"Jonno understands this. He gets frustrated because of the number of chances we have missed, but we have created those chances because of the way we play. We have a great relationship full of respect for each other and his attitude has been spot-on all season. He’s always been ready to play when needed.

"Rovers have picked up a bit after an awful run and they will want to win their last game in front of their great fanbase. They have experience up top with [Scott] Sinclair, [Chris] Martin and [Luke] Thomas and some aggressive players in the middle of the pitch.

"To win there we need to be more solid defensively. We’ve not been as connected or as compact as I’d have liked in recent games.”