Peterborough tie is the biggest we could have wished for, says Chorley boss Jamie Vermiglio

Magpies boss Jamie Vermiglio admits he is looking forward to pitting his wits against Peterborough United manager Darren Ferguson.
Jamie Vermiglio (photo; Stefan Willoughby)Jamie Vermiglio (photo; Stefan Willoughby)
Jamie Vermiglio (photo; Stefan Willoughby)

The pair will go head-to-head in the dugout at London Road tomorrow when their sides clash in the FA Cup second round.

Ferguson is, of course, the son of former Manchester United boss Sir Alex, who is arguably the greatest manager the game has ever seen.

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An ex-Red Devils midfielder himself, Ferguson junior – who briefly managed Preston North End – has enjoyed a good career in management, especially with Posh. Now in his third spell as manager of the club, Ferguson has enjoyed three promotions with the Cambridgeshire outfit in previous stints.

Darren FergusonDarren Ferguson
Darren Ferguson

It is not just the opportunity of testing himself against Ferguson which is whetting Vermiglio’s appetite. Peterborough are a long-established Football League club, who have enjoyed a high profile at various times over the years.

The charismatic Barry Fry is currently the club’s director of football, but he has served Posh as both manager and chairman. The Magpies manager also remembers watching the fly-on-the-wall documentary “Big Ron Manager”, which saw ex-Manchester United and Aston Villa boss Ron Atkinson act as a troubleshooter to help rookie Posh boss Steve Bleasdale.

Vermiglio said: “I think what adds a little bit of spice to the game for me as amanager is coming up against Darren Ferguson, who is Alex’s son.

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“He’s done really well there as manager, won several promotions.

“Then you talk about Barry Fry, he is one of the biggest names in football. Everybody knows who he is. The profile of their club is huge and we couldn’t have really got a better draw in terms of getting a big club and it being televised.

“Considering what we did in the last round, beating Wigan and where Peterborough are in their table, I think everybody is looking at this and thinking it could be a good game of football and the chance of a big shock.”

With Chorley just above the drop zone in the National League North and Peterborough occupying one of the automatic promotion spots in League One, there is a huge chasm – 88 places in fact – between the two clubs.

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And Vermiglio knows his team have a huge task ahead of them.

“There is a huge gulf between the two clubs, “ he said.“If you look at their ground, where they train, the players at their disposal – most of our lads have got jobs during the day.

“But it’s got all the ingredients of a big cup upset and that’s what we’ll be trying to make happen.”