Peterborough United owner Darragh MacAnthony has promised to put his shares in the club up for sale if Robbie Savage’s side are not in League One’s top ten by February.

The commitment came after Tuesday’s 2-0 defeat at Bradford City ended Posh’s Carabao Cup run in the fourth round. MacAnthony defended the squad he has helped assemble and backed Savage to deliver an improvement, but attached a clear condition to his own future involvement.

Peterborough currently sit 21st with ten points from 12 league matches, leaving them needing a substantial climb to meet the target. According to the Peterborough Telegraph, MacAnthony made the pledge while responding on X to criticism of the club’s recruitment approach.

The owner rejected the suggestion that his long-standing policy of building young, hungry squads could not work at this level, before accepting responsibility for the teams constructed during his tenure.

Peterborough have won four promotions during MacAnthony’s ownership, including three from League One to the Championship. His latest declaration places a deadline on the current squad producing results consistent with his confidence in them.

Yep Dave that idea (which we’ve had for 20 seasons) just won’t work at this level as it never has right 🤔.
But being serious for a moment; I take full responsibility for all the squads built over my 20 years owning Posh.
For some reason I have a lot of confidence in the current one. RS will bring the best out of them & we as owners will support him in doing so.
My promise to you the fans is always honesty, So I make a promise that if this squad isn’t top 10 by February, I’ll put my share of the club up for sale & let others take the baton with our wonderful club. 💙

— Darragh MacAnthony (@DMACten2) October 27, 2026

MacAnthony has made a Peterborough United pledge before

There is a familiar element to the announcement. In January 2020, MacAnthony promised to step down as chairman if Peterborough failed to reach the play-offs, having expressed similar confidence in the manager, staff and players.

That declaration followed a 1-0 defeat at AFC Wimbledon which left Posh tenth, four points outside the top six. The circumstances that eventually decided their season, however, were extraordinary.

The 2019/20 campaign was curtailed during the Covid pandemic, with final positions determined on points per game. Peterborough missed out on the play-offs as Wycombe Wanderers moved above them into the qualifying places.

MacAnthony subsequently changed his Twitter profile to describe himself as a former chairman, adopting the title “El Presidente” while remaining an owner. He explained the change during an appearance on Sky Sports, referring back to his January promise.

This time, the pledge concerns his shares. Savage retains his public backing and the promise of support from the owners, but February now provides a specific point at which the team’s progress will be measured.

MacAnthony has given himself a much harder promise to explain away this time. Putting shares up for sale would be a concrete step beyond changing a title, even though completing a sale would depend on finding a buyer. From 21st, a top-ten target demands a significant improvement. Having chosen both the benchmark and the deadline, the owner has ensured that his own commitment will be judged alongside the squad’s results.