Posh have won both of their home matches under Gannon

Peterborough United boss Jim Gannon believes his side have given themselves hope of Championship survival with home wins over Ipswich and QPR.

Posh remain nine points from safety but have taken six points from six under Gannon at London Road.

He told BBC Radio Cambridgeshire: "Initially we wanted some credibility in our play and bring some pride back.

"But if we continue to play well there's no reason not to have a little bit of hope."

Posh fought back from a goal down against Ipswich on Tuesday to secure just their fifth win of the season.

But Gannon knows their chances of survival remain slim and will not allow his players to rest on their laurels ahead of Sheffield United on Saturday.

"Saturday is a great challenge for the players as they've shown against Ipswich and QPR that they can beat teams in the bottom half," he said.

"Now they've got an opportunity to do it against a side pushing for the play-offs."

Gannon has experimented with various formations since taking over at London Road and switched to a 4-3-3 formation during Tuesday's win over Ipswich.

"It gives a bit more security to our midfield and allows the wide players to play wider and threaten and it brought more out of George Boyd and Reuben Reid," Gannon said.

"It's a system which seems to suit the players and it worked really well against Ipswich as we looked unbalanced earlier in the game."

This could lead to strikers Aaron Mclean and Craig Mackail-Smith both being dropped to the bench together for the first time since they arrived at the club in the 2006-2007 season.

The pair were mainstays under Darren Ferguson during back-to-back promotion season's in League One and League Two.

But Gannon says both players still have plenty to give this season.

"We need tactical variation, we will change things as necessary and we need different types of attackers for that," he said.

"It's conceivable that neither Craig Mackail-Smith or Aaron Mclean will start on Saturday, but they will still have a part to play."

Meanwhile, on-loan Charlton striker Izale Mcleod has been ruled out for up to eight weeks with a knee problem.

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