Popular Peterborough United star pays tribute to Shrewsbury Town and their manager ahead of Good Friday clash

Ogbeta was handed his Football League debut by Cotterill after joining Shrewsbury from Manchester City in January 2021.

Annoyingly he helped the Shrews beat promotion-bound Posh 2-0 at the New Meadow in his first game, but he made such an impression on visiting boss Darren Ferguson he spent the next year trying to bring him to London Road.

It didn’t happen as Ogbeta understandably joined Championship side Swansea City in January 2022 instead. The 21 year-old had made 58 appearances for the Shrews, scoring two goals.

"I really enjoyed my time at Shrewsbury,” Ogbeta insisted. “It became difficult as the manager was away from the club for a long period because of illness, so a lot of the conversations we had both individually and as a team were done online.

"But Shrewsbury gave me the opportunity to play regular first team football and I will always be grateful for that.

“And when the manager came back to the club, he gave me a lot of confidence and I learnt a lot from him and the rest of the coaches at the club.

"It was a good move for me and the manager was really good with me. I’m looking forward to going back.”

Ogbeta’s year at Swansea has been a nightmare. He was out injured for a while with a hamstring injury suffered soon after his move to South Wales and he couldn’t break into the side this season.

He’s made just one start for Russell Martin’s side in a League Cup tie plus two Championship appearances as a substitute, but he’s been flying since joining Posh on loan in January.

Ogbeta’s ability to glide forward with the ball at his feet, his crossing skills, a crucial goal against Derby County recently and his obvious joy when his new team score a goal have all helped make him a firm fans’ favourite at the Weston Homes Stadium.

“I am really enjoying my football at Peterborough now,” Ogbeta added. “It was tough not playing at Swansea, but even during that spell I learned a lot about myself and felt like I improved in training.

"When you go out on loan you want to be playing games. At the start here I was on the bench for a couple of games, but I knew I had to be patient and try and take my opportunity when it came.

“The manager and the coaches are really good here. I always look to go through my clips with (coach) Dale Tonge, look at where I can improve and what I can do better. I feel that is important.“

Cotterill was also praised by former Posh boss Grant McCann ahead of an FA Cup second round tie between the clubs in December. Cotterill managed McCann when he was a young midfielder at Cheltenham and credits his then gaffer for ‘toughening him up.’

Shrewsbury won that cup tie 3-1, but Posh gained a measure of revenge when a late Frankie Kent header gave them a 2-1 League One win at London Road in February.

The Shrews have slipped out of the race for the play-offs since that loss. They will start Friday’s match four places and nine points behind sixth-placed Posh, although they do have a game in hand.

Posh midfielder Oliver Norburn is another ex-Shrewsbury player. He’s a former skipper of both clubs.

The 30 year-old played 116 times for the Shrews, scoring 18 goals, before moving to Posh in a £500k deal in August, 2021.