Luke Williams applauds the Peterborough United fans. Photo: David Lowndes.placeholder image
Luke Williams applauds the Peterborough United fans. Photo: David Lowndes.
Peterborough United boss Luke Williams has praised the attitude of all of the players in his squad, especially those who have been left disappointed to not start recent games.
Posh booked their place in the knockout rounds of the EFL Trophy on Tuesday night with a 2-1 win away at Crawley, thanks to goals from Jimmy-Jay Morgan and a last-minute winner from Donay O’Brien-Brady.
Both had to bounce back from recent disappointment, with Morgan being dropped to the bench for Saturday’s 5-0 win over AFC Wimbledon while O’Brien-Brady will have been hoping to start Tuesday night’s match at the Broadfield Stadium to be able to show his worth to the new Posh boss.
Williams hailed the impressive attitude of both in particular in helping his side pull out a result against the League Two side on a night Posh were not at their best.
The result was good enough to see Posh through in second place into the Round of 32. Posh will therefore be drawn away to one of seven group winners in the southern section. Posh will therefore travel to Cardiff, Bristol Rovers, Northampton, Swindon, Stevenage, Colchester or Luton.
The draw will be live on Sky Sports News on Thursday at 2:30pm.
Williams said: “We had to work very hard against a really tough opposition who played very well. It looked like we were really losing our grip a couple of times but there’s some character there and some guys came off the bench and gave us some new energy.
“There’s going to be an adjustment and there were some tired bodies from the weekend and some that haven’t been exposed to that yet and are coming into the team for the first time so we need to try and get a whole squad of players to be able to play with intensity for an entire 90 minutes of football.
“There's things I have learnt about the players, I’m not disappointed by anyone but there’s things I know more about now. I’m pleased I am getting to see more players in the club, young and senior alike. It’s a big step forward for us.
“Hopefully the players are going to listen to this and if the attitude is going to be ‘’m not starting a game so I’m not interested’ there’s going to be problems. There has to be an attitude of ‘when I get onto the pitch, I add to the group’, ‘if I add so much and I am so impressive then at some point the manager is going to start me.’ That has to be the attitude or we are not going to move forward. If we rely on ten outfield players then everyone else downing tools, then we will have absolutely no chance.
“We have seen that with JJ. The reaction to not starting on Saturday was spot on. This is a really talented player who belongs to one of the biggest clubs on the planet and is rated extremely highly. He’s going to show his courage and his full personality, not just the quality when the ball at his feet, and he’s done that.
"Of course he’ll have been disappointed about Saturday, he’s a professional footballer who wants to play every second of every game but it’s important that the group comes together and respects each other. We had two strikers score today and another today and he put a lot of work in for the team today. We have to applaud that. The goal is great, we all know he will score but the attitude, work and fighting for the ball; he put his body on the line and took some knocks. That is how he is going to become the top player he is going to be.
“Donay came into the game, disappointed not to start, but he battled away for the team and takes the initiative to score the winner for the team. This is what we need.
“When the fans left the stadium on Saturday, we all felt great because we’d done that together. The player tried to put their best foot forward, the energy from the stands was brilliant and it bounced back and forth. Players came into the game and picked up where their teammates left off, people came off the pitch destroyed. That’s the message I need to get across.
“What a group of fans. They traveled in the driving rain and cold and I’m sure they got stuck in traffic and all sorts of problems but they came here cheered us on and charged down to celebrate with Donay when he scored the winning goal, just brilliant. Thank you so much for the effort.
“I’d love to be part of the club’s tradition in this trophy and we’ve got some exciting things to look forward to.”
Posh also handed a senior debut to 18-year-old centre-back Fabian Claxton, who lasted 58 minutes before being replaced by Lucca Mendonca, when asked about Claxton’s performance, Williams added: “I’m happy. It’s great because we had CJ on one side of him and Tom on the other. Two top professional and winners. It’s great he can have that experience from those guys, he’ll have learnt so much from those guys. I can’t teach him anywhere near what they can in the thick of things. It’s really good for the club and great for him.”
Posh have a nine-day break before their next match following the postponement of the weekend’s match away at Mansfield and return to action at home against Stockport next Thursday (November 20).
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