Peterborough United chairman Darragh MacAnthony told UpThePoshcast he believes Kevin Russell is going to be “one of the secret signings of the season.”

Russell returned to the club as first team coach earlier this summer following the departure of Dale Tonge to Rotherham United.

Photo Credit : Joe Dent / Peterborough United

He knows manager Darren Ferguson extremely well and is no stranger to Posh, being part of the set-up that led the club to three promotions between 2007 and 2011.

Here’s four ways we can see “Rooster” is making a difference already.

1. A happier Fergie

There’s been commentary about how relaxed Fergie has looked during the pre-season so far.

Much of that is likely to be down to a longer break than in recent years, but having someone he knows so well back by his side must have helped too.

The pair worked together for a long - and successful - period so clearly know each other well and work together well. This must take some of the pressure off the manager.

They were both very excited to be working together again.

Fergie’s also already admitted he appreciates another voice in delivering the standards, as he felt his own voice was being diluted at times due to being the only one the players heard.

Darragh has also said it brings a ‘different dynamic’ to the coaching set up.

2. Set piece success 

Darragh spoke in-depth to UTP about the set piece work he saw Russell doing the week at St George’s Park, with both attackers and defenders.

“Rooster has got our defenders with tennis balls in their hands, right? I'm watching the whole idea is you as a defender are not allowed to grab because you got a tennis ball in your hand. Suddenly you're stood in the box and you have to find a way because usually what they'll do is they'll grab somebody.

“Let me tell you right now, there were Harley Mills deliveries and [Chris Conn-Clarke] deliveries and they were unbelievable... We scored one goal in 22 of them. That's how good our defenders were in the set pieces.“

With a number of set piece goals already scored in pre-season, this work is clearly having an impact - and can make a difference this season.

“If we can clean that up by 60% either way we are a different team,” Darragh told UpThePoshcast.

3. Impact on the players

As a former striker, Russell knows where the goal is, so he can hopefully help Gustav Lindgren and Bradley Ihionvien fulfill their clear potential.

Darragh told UpThePoshcast that Russell “loves”  Ihionvien and that he believes “there's a seriously good player in there.”

It sounds like Russell also played a role in bringing Ihionvien back into the fold after he was told he could leave at the end of last season.

The work they are doing on the training pitch seems to be paying immediate rewards with the striker banging in the goals during pre-season.

Russell’s in-game coaching and support for Ihionvien has been clear to see in the pre-season games so far, with six goals in three games up until the encounter with Peterborough Sports.

4. The talent scout 

Posh can also benefit from Russell’s time away from London Road during which he has had spells with Stoke, Cheltenham and Huddersfield.

Having spent a lot of that in academy football, Rooster clearly has a wealth of knowledge of talented young players in the EFL. 

These skills will hopefully help Posh continue to identify and sign quality young players like David Okagbue, who arrived at London Road a few days ago, clearly in part down to Russell’s recommendation.