Peterborough United boss Darren Ferguson has dropped a bold claim as the League One promotion race concludes.
Derby County were the big winners last night as they watched Bolton Wanderers drop points at home to Shrewsbury Town having fallen behind twice in the match.
A comfortable 3-0 victory over Leyton Orient at Pride Park, coupled with Bolton recording consecutive draws, has given the Rams daylight in second position.
Paul Warne‘s men are three points clear of the Trotters and need just four points from their final two matches, away at Cambridge and home to Carlisle to seal their return to the Championship.
It would take a monumental collapse for Derby to give up promotion from this position, although it isn’t beyond the realms of possibility with Bolton and Peterborough waiting to pounce if collapse does set in.
Darren Ferguson makes ‘strange’ Derby County promotion claim
Peterborough are six points behind Derby with a game in hand following their emphatic 4-1 victory over Fleetwood Town last night.
The Posh have perhaps left it too little too late to make up ground and finish in second position, but manager Darren Ferguson believes stranger things have happened in football.
Following their win over the Cod Army, Ferguson addressed the current promotion picture in his post-match interview, claiming the race for second isn’t over as Derby have to win on Saturday.
“When we get to 1-1, I’ve just gone for it. It’s a good night with another four goals and three on the goal difference,” Ferguson said.
“Let’s see where it takes us. Bolton drew and now we need a point to secure a home tie in the play-offs in the second leg.
“Football works in many strange ways, it’s Derby’s to throw away, but they have to win on Saturday.
Derby County must get the job done against Cambridge
Derby can take a giant step towards sealing promotion by beating Cambridge as Bolton and Peterborough clash on the final day, potentially cancelling each other out.
While a draw wouldn’t be the worst result for Warne’s men, as promotion would still be in their hands, a defeat would be catastrophic.
Dropping all three points and Bolton beating Port Vale at home would send the Trotters level on points, with a five-goal swing needed to knock Derby off their perch.
That is an unlikely outcome but under the pressure of getting across the finish line, the Rams must approach the game professionally after putting themselves in such a strong position.
As Bolton Wanderers manager Ian Evatt has completely written off his side’s chances and is settling for the play-offs, Ferguson has approached this situation with the correct mentality.
He believes everything is still to play for. Until Derby are mathematically promoted to the Championship, the chasing pack should have every belief of causing an upset at Pride Park.
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