DERBY DAY: Boss McCann tells Posh players to expect '˜toughest game of the season' at Sixfields

The Northern Irishman says Town are a ‘wounded animal’ following the humiliating 3-0 defeat at London Road in the previous meeting between the teams last month, and he is expecting a real battle.

Posh were impressive 1-0 home winners over fellow high-flyers Bolton Wanderers last Sunday, but McCann believes his team are going to have to up their game even further to return from a packed Sixfields with any sort of reward.

“Northampton will be a wounded animal after the last game, their manager has already alluded to that,” said the Peterborough boss ahead of the Sky Bet League One clash.

“This will definitely be our toughest game of the season. Northampton’s players will know what to expect from us and from this particular derby fixture.

“They are a decent side. They have some good players and they have picked up some good results, but then we are the same.”

McCann is delighted with the current form of his players, and believes they relish big occasions - and that the weekend derby is a match they will take in their stride.

“We will need to play with the same level of controlled aggression as we did against Bolton, but then find something extra, because this will be a harder game,” he said.

“It’s a big game, but my players have a big game mentality. You can see it in training as well as the matches.

“We are confident. We are in good form, we have almost a full squad to select from and we want to keep our excellent run going, but no-one is getting ideas above their station either.

“We haven’t ‘cracked’ anything yet.”