Ahead of the FA Cup game against Sunderland, I had the opportunity to ask a few questions to editor of Vital Sunderland.
Here are the responses:
1. Were you happy to see the back of Steve Bruce or shocked to see him go?
Like a lot of fans, I’d run out of patience as much as anything. We were not moving in the right direction and I certainly felt that Bruce had had his time to rectify the situation. The problems and errors that we were all identifying had not been solved. The games he was presented with to save his job, Fulham and Wigan at home, yielded a solitary point and a solitary goal.
It was time for change.
2. Has Martin O`Neil made any major changes since taking over?
Nope. With January having just arrived he has inherited the exact squad Bruce left but what is clear is that he has been quickly able to instill some belief in the players. To a point, they limped to victory against Blackburn, but that was enough to spark a bit of confidence amongst the squad and from there we have seen the snowball effect. Even the one defeat we’ve suffered – 1-0 against Spurs, was a game we were very much in.
Two further late wins against Queens Park Rangers and most notably Manchester City are further evidence of the new-found belief in the squad. That will however not be enough on it’s own and re-enforcements are desperately needed.
3. The F.A Cup – will it detract you from your fight for Premiership survival or is it a welcome break?
A bit of both I think. We are very much pulling in the right direction now (13th), and therefore the F.A Cup will prove less of a distraction than a month ago. A run would be nice – it’s a while since we’ve had one, however in that boring and pragmatic way, survival in the Premier League is the number one target for the remainder of this season. O’Neill would be regarded a failure in my eyes if we reached the quarter/semi-finals of the F.A Cup but went down.
4. How strong a team is O`Neil likely to name against Posh?
On the basis the squad is not all that deep anyway, and we have a handful of absentees at present, I imagine it will be a fairly strong team. At most we will see a few faces that have been on the bench regularly since O’Neill’s arrival, the likes of Ahmed Elmohamady, Matt Kilgallon and Ji Dong-Won for example. To qualify that, all three were playing substitutes in the City win.
5. Who is the Sunderland stand out player / danger man that Posh should be wary of?
Stephane Sessegnon and Sebastian Larsson have been in excellent form recently. Sessegnon is a pacey, tricky, direct winger who has been utilized behind Nicklas Bendtner in recent weeks owing to a lack of striking options. Much like Carlos Tevez he has the phenomenal ability to carry the ball long-distances and either create something dangerous or draw the foul in a dangerous area.
That dangerous area is where Larsson comes in; a fantastic free-kick and set-piece taker – the most dangerous in the Premier League for two years now, statistically speaking. Larsson can cross a ball and has a work-rate rarely seen by the modern-day wide player.
6. Do you expect Sunderland to bring a large following?
I think that we’ll certainly bring a few. It’s always a bit of a luxury to visit a proper football ground when you’re a fan of a Premier League side and it becomes incredibly boring to visit soulless bowls every week, the only difference being the colour of the seats. Christmas will be well and truly over and it’s back to the grind, the only thing stopping people is it being on TV on a Sunday.
7. Match prediction?
Peterborough score a lot of goals, we do not keep clean sheets. It should be an entertaining 3-2 to Sunderland. And by entertaining, I mean exceedingly nervy for us!
Many thanks to Tom at Vital Sunderland for answering the questions.
UP THE POSH Follow me on Twitter: @MWL1967
Photos/images courtesy of www.theposhpics.com
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UP THE POSH Follow me on Twitter: @MWL1967
Photos courtesy of www.theposhpics.com
Join Vital Peterborough United!
With news and views, along with a forum, polls and article comments, everything you need in a fans site is right here!
Vital Posh is 100% interactive. Not only can you have your say on the articles and the forum but you can also suggest an article or a poll so you can air your views.
So why not join Vital Posh today?
It’s easy to REGISTER HERE. Simply click the link and enjoy getting involved!.
Message Board
To visit the message board, click here.
Get involved
This website is your website and we are looking for people to help run the site. Do you go to most of the games and have an opinion? Why not write a match report? Perhaps you are a budding journalist or even just someone who is very opinionated? Well why not join our team? If this interests you please contact Vital Posh at peterborough@vitalfootball.co.uk .
Vital Peterborough is also on:
