Sheffield Wednesday miracle could be 'the best thing that happened to Peterborough United' says owner

The Owls overcame a 4-0 first leg defeat at London Road to win out on penalties after a 5-1 win at S6 since shorthanded as 'The Miracle of Hillsborough'. It stands as the greatest comeback in the history of EFL play-off football, the biggest previous deficit overcome having been by two goals. A 123rd-minute winner at Wembley secured Wednesday a place in the Championship.

Back in League One, Peterborough are enjoying an excellent start to another promotion effort and after 23 matches sit second in the table behind pace setters Portsmouth. An extra year in the third tier will allow The Posh to sort their house out before a return to the Championship, MacAnthony has claimed on his The Hard Truth podcast.

"Don’t get me wrong I wanted promotion last season, but the thing that happened at Sheffield Wednesday might turn out to be the best thing that happened to our club," he said.

"I knew exactly what I wanted to do 10 minutes after the game. Ask the manager. I spoke to him about it as he drove home. That’s when the mapping out for the future started. It was the perfect opportunity to do what I know needed doing. I’d have loved to have won promotion. I’d take a promotion every day of the week.

"But if we had gone up last season we would have had senior players on improved contracts and we would never have been able to shift them, so maybe it was God’s way of slowing us down, of saying we weren’t ready.

"He gave us the thrill of the play-off place and the brilliant first-leg, but it was a case of taking one step at a time. If we had gone up I would have dealt with it all no problem, but maybe it’s worked out for the best for us anyway."