No-nonsense chairman of Portsmouth rivals Peterborough blasts 'spoilt-rotten' players following League One defeat at hands of Barnsley

The no-nonsense Posh co-owner told the London Road first team a few hard-hitting home truths after their ‘unacceptable’ 2-1 home defeat to Barnsley on Friday night, calling them ‘spoilt rotten’.

And he’s demanded a change in their attitudes, claiming he wasn’t getting ‘value for money’ from them this season.

Peterborough’s defeat to the Tykes was their ninth in League One this season, their third consecutive league loss, and a fourth in a row in all competitions.

They remain sixth in the table, though, with 31 points from their 20 games played.

That’s two points more than Pompey, who are eighth in League One, but can climb to fifth if they win their games in hand on those currently above them.

Yet Posh clinging on to a play-off place isn’t what MacAnthony expected from his side following relegation from the Championship last season.

He expects a lot more – and made sure Grant McCann’s underperforming players know it in the latest episode of his The Hard Truth Podcast.

Pulling no punches, the tough-talking Irishman said: ‘We were outplayed, outcoached, outpressed (against Barnsley) and could have been 3-0 down after 20 minutes.

‘Barnsley had an answer for everything we did. They forced us into a Plan B and we didn’t have one.

‘It was abject. We shouldn’t be losing nine games in this league before Christmas, never mind by the start of December. We don’t need to be arrogant, but we should be playing on the front foot in this division.

‘The players are spoilt rotten. We have the most expensive management team I’ve ever recruited. The players have everything they need. We’ve even hired an assistant chef now! Maybe we should knock spending £5k on away trips on the head and remind them how hard life used to be.

‘We have players who should be dominating League One games. They are on good wages, but we are not getting value for money.

‘If I was the captain of the team I’d have dragged the players in on Saturday morning and asked them what’s going on? I doubt that happened, though, as they probably had the weekend off.

‘It has to change attitude-wise. They need to wake up and smell the coffee and start doing their jobs better from 1-11 and win some football matches.

‘There has to be some accountability. Barnsley came down with us last season, sold some of their better players and yet a side who have spent four months together looked much better than one that has been together for two years.

‘We improved our squad, the younger players are better and we sold only one player.

‘I keep getting told this a great group of players and now they need to prove it. They need to show some spirit and realise what is expected of everyone employed by Peterborough United because what I saw on Friday was unacceptable.

‘None of us, including me, were good enough. I understand the criticism and the booing as I’m as frustrated as the fans.’

Pompey, who are also struggling for League One wins at present, are one of the nine teams to inflict a league loss on Peterborough this season, following a 2-1 win at Fratton Park in September.

The return fixture at London Road is scheduled for Saturday, January 28.