Peterborough United boss makes Wigan Athletic admission after 'embarrassing' blow

The Scot launched an astonishing attack on his players following their 5-1 thrashing at Lincoln City on Saturday.

An 'embarrassed' Ferguson labelled his team 'a shambles' and having 'no desire', claiming they are the 'softest' he has worked with during his career.

"I am embarrassed," said Ferguson, whose side lie 19th in League One, only two places and six points above the drop zone. "That was an embarrassing performance, and I have never seen that from a Peterborough United team at this level. Embarrassing.

"The game started quite hectic, but you get that in most games, then they get the first goal, it's a free header and it's 'just go and score' basically. Just go and do what you want. The second goal we gave a foul away when we should be tackling, and it was a mess, a complete mess.

"If you don't do the basics, if you don't run, don't tackle, don't head the ball, and don't have the desire, the real desire, to turn up every game, that is the problem with this group of players. They haven't got the desire as a group. We don't run, don't tackle, don't head. When we do tackle it's always a foul as we don't tackle properly, and that was a shambles. A mess.

"I don't often say that about my team, but I am sorry, I have to be honest and say this group of players is the softest group of players I have ever had in my whole managerial career. It is my group of players, but I am embarrassed by that, and sometimes you think you are just wasting your time.

"Let's be honest, the players are young but they have got to have a career, and they have absolutely no chance of having a career. Come on! Show some fight and desire, that is what it's about and we haven't got it. We will have to get on with it tomorrow and pick another team for Tuesday to see if we get another reaction, because the reality is if we play like that we are in trouble."