Darren Ferguson praised his young Peterborough side for signing off a promotion season in style with a 4-1 win over Doncaster and paid tribute to the retiring James Coppinger.

Goals from Mo Eisa, Niall Mason, Idris Kanu and Ricky-Jade Jones saw Posh run riot in a thoroughly dominant first half before Tyreece John-Jules pulled a goal back in stoppage time for beleaguered Doncaster.

Ferguson was delighted with the professionalism and intent shown by his much-changed outfit, where big-name players such as Jonson Clarke Harris and Siriki Dembele were absent.

The game marked the end of the career of Doncaster’s Coppinger and Ferguson paid tribute to a man he worked with during his own spell in charge of Rovers.

“I’ve said it many times before and I’m sure I’ll say it many times again – he’s one of the best players I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with,” Ferguson said.

“The way he conducts himself shows he is a model pro. He is a credit to his club, his profession and to himself.

“It’s a shame he couldn’t go out on a better note but he just caught us on a good day when everything went right.

“We were magnificent, especially in the first half when we totally blew them away.

“Pace, finishing pressure and we could have won by a lot more goals.”

Andy Butler felt Doncaster let down the retiring Coppinger with their performance in defeat to Peterborough.

Coppinger brought to an end his playing career after 17 seasons with Doncaster but could not end on a winning note.

“We spoke in the changing room before the game about sending Copps off in style and we let him down to be honest,” Butler said.

“I think you saw a team that wanted the ball more than us, wanted to press more than us and wanted to run more than us.

“The goals were all preventable against a Peterborough side who deserved to be promoted.

“We have seen today the level we need to get to in order to be successful in this league and learn from our mistakes.

“If you give Peterborough chances they’re going to score goals.”

Butler was disappointed on a personal note to see his spell in charge of the team end on a sour note.

“I’m obviously gutted because this was my chance to manage the first team,” he said. “I’ve got thick skin and I’ll take it on board.

“We’ve not had the results we’d want or the performances we’d want but I’ve given my all to this club.

“Whether I’m the manager next year or a player next year, I’ll give it everything I’ve got.”