Good news for Rotherham United as missing men mount up for tomorrow's opponents
ROTHERHAM United head to Peterborough United this weekend with their hopes of a third consecutive League One win boosted by the number of absentees in the opposition camp.
Posh will be lacking the services of several key players including central midfielders Archie Collins and Hector Kyprianou who have been described as the best central-midfield partnership in the division by their manager, Darren Ferguson.
On-loan Manchester City defender Jadel Katongo, attacking midfielder Chris Conn-Clark and left-back Rio Adebisi are other players sidelined for tomorrow’s clash.
Striker Bradley Ihionvien is touch and go to return after suffering a calf problem while on-loan Sheffield United right-back Sam Curtis is away on international duty with the Republic of Ireland under-21 squad.
Ferguson, whose side won 2-1 at home against Northampton Town last weekend, is expecting Steve Evans' men to be difficult opponents, with just a point separating the two clubs in the table.
“It’s definitely a tough game for us,” he said. “We will need to defend well against a big, physical team. We know we will create chances so if we can defend well we will have a great chance of winning.”
Evans is desperate to see his team win as Posh are one of his former clubs and sacked him when they were in a League One play-off place.
The loss of captain Kyprianou is a huge blow to Peterborough, particularly as partner Collins – a transfer target of Rotherham's when Matt Taylor was manager – is missing through suspension.
The skipper has been ruled out for nearly two months after trying to play through a hamstring twinge against Wigan Athletic earlier this month.
“As always we will just get on with things,” Ferguson said. “We’ve been down to the bare bones a bit this season and it is challenging.
“I don’t like to make too much of a fuss about injuries as we have a squad for a reason. It’s a chance for others to step up and prove they should be starting more regularly.”
The boss is demanding an improvement on last Saturday's display in the late victory achieved by Kwame Poku's stoppage-time winner.
“The result against Stevenage was far better than the performance,” he admitted. “I guess Stevenage went away scratching their heads wondering how they lost the game.
“There is no better feeling than winning a game with the last kick. I was pleased the players didn’t over-celebrate in the dressing room as they knew we hadn’t played very well.”