Posh boss Ferguson has 'no idea' what to expect from Sampson's Cobblers

Sampson takes charge as caretaker boss for the first time this evening after he replaced Jon Brady last week – and it could hardly be a bigger game than a clash against rivals Posh. Both sides need victory after an indifferent few weeks.

Ferguson said: "I watched Northampton at Stevenage last week which wasn’t very helpful as they went down to 10 men in the first half so could only play one way and that was to try and dig in. I spoke to Jon Brady on Thursday after he’d resigned. He's a good guy, someone I’ve always got on with. He probably felt he’d taken them as far as he could which is something I’ve experienced in my career. He did a great job given the constraints he had to work under and he’s left the club with some good players.

"I know Ian was part of Jon’s management team, but it’s usually the case a new man will have his own ideas and want to put his own stamp on the team. I have no idea who he will play or how they will play, but we will focus on ourselves. We know the game will be frantic at times so we will have to do certain things well. We’ve done well in the last three home derbies against Cambridge and Northampton, but those performances will have no bearing on Monday’s game

“It’s a big night for our fans. Generally they’ve been very positive this season, but we know we won’t get applauded off the pitch when we perform like we did against Burton and we can also expect criticism about where we are in the league.”