DARREN FERGUSON is aiming to take Peterborough into the Championship for the second time – and star winger George Boyd is backing the son of Sir Alex to get the better of Town and the rest of the pack chasing League I’s second automatic promotion spot.

Taking just one point from the last six available means the Posh charge has faltered, but Boyd believes a return to the form which brought five straight wins before that is imminent.

Sixth-placed Bournemouth go to London Road tonight knowing victory would put them within a point of their hosts.

But Boyd and Co are in the mood to avenge a 5-1 defeat back in August which left them feeling sick – literally.

“It was a bad day for us. I had a stomach ache and so did several other players and we still don’t know what caused it,” said Boyd.

“It was a shock to play so poorly at the time because we had started the season well with a big win over Bristol Rovers.

“Defeats like that definitely stick in the mind and we will use that to motivate ourselves tonight. It’s a big enough game in its own right anyway and we have to win to put pressure on the teams around us.”

Scoring goals hasn’t been a problem for Posh, with their tally of 88 in 38 games so far – 19 better than the next best haul, that of leaders Brighton.

But they’ve given away 64, more than both the bottom two clubs Swindon and Plymouth, and Ferguson, who returned after a dismal spell in charge of Preston to replace Gary Johnson in January, made stronger defending a priority.

“We’re certainly playing well enough as a team to mean that automatic promotion is well within reach.”