Fergie delighted and excited to be back at Peterborough United and he's determined to leave in the summer with another promotion under his belt

Ferguson returned for a fouth spell as Posh boss on Wednesday following the sacking of Grant McCann. He takes over a side short on confidence and form, but he’s convinced the League One play-offs remain a realistic target.

Posh are currently eighth, five points adrift of the top six, although the gap could have grown before they play again at Port Vale on Monday, January 16.

Ferguson conducted his first interview since accepting a short-term deal with the Posh media team on Thursday. He covered the transfer window, his resignation from Posh 11 months ago and the role of the club’s fans for the rest of the season and his relationship with them, while confirming he will not be at London Road next season.

"I’m excited and delighted to be back,” Ferguson said. “But I must stress it is a short-term deal. I have a close affinity with the club and the chairman and I will give it my all as I always have in my time here. Me returning means the club can settle down and then do what they need to do in the summer.

"I’ve had a few opportunities to get back into the game, but nothing that excited me. I was prepared to wait until the summer, but then I got the call asking me to help out here.

"And it was great to be back on the grass again after having meetings with the players and the staff.

"I know a lot of the players and there is a fair bit of talent here. I will be assessing everyone, even the ones I already know, before sitting down with the chairman to discuss what we need and who might benefit from going out. Everyone's opinion in football is different.

"There won’t be four or five coming in or five or six going out. I’m not a big fan of the January window, although it is a little different as I wasn’t here at the start of the season. I won’t just be assessing the players’ ability, I’ll be assessing them mentally. Sometimes it does a player good to go out and bringing a fresh face in can give a boost to the squad.

"Obviously confidence is low because they’ve been on a very poor run of form so it’s good that I have a lot of time before we play a game.

"I told the players this morning to forget what’s happened already this season. We can’t change that. The top three have gone, but the top six is achievable. Sometimes it’s best to simplify things and we are in a 22-game mini league with my focus firmly on the next game at Port Vale as we have to sort out our away form quickly.

"I’ve seen a lot of League One games this season, some good ones and some bad ones, so I feel I still know the division. I haven’t watched us though which suits me as I want to start with a blank canvas.

"I experienced some of time most enjoyable times in my last spell here. I don’t bear grudges. We enjoyed the good times and learnt from the bad times.

"The fans can play their part. The players will need their support to get their confidence back.

"I know I’m not everyone’s cup of tea, but I bet if a manager with three League One promotions turned up here, who wasn’t me, the fans would be pleased.

"The fans should be grateful for every season this club spends in the Championship as it’s a great achievement for a club of our size.

"We have had good seasons in the Championship, but last time we weren’t equipped for it. I felt I made the right decision to quit when I did as I wanted to give someone else a chance of keeping us up."