The 41-year-old is said to have signed a two-and-a-half-year contract and is likely to be assisted by longtime associate Cliff Bryne.

McCann was at Craven Cottage last night (23 February) watching Posh lose 2-1 to Championship leaders Fulham, but as a spectator. Posh will officially introduce McCann as the new first-team boss at a 4pm press conference at Weston Homes Stadium today.

McCann managed Posh between May 2016 and February 2018 before being sacked by current club chairman Darragh MacAnthony with his side 10th in League One and six points out of the play-offs.

McCann was replaced by Steve Evans after a 1-1 home draw with Wimbledon who was in turn replaced by Darren Ferguson 11 months later.

In his previous season, McCann coached Posh to an 11th-place finish.

Ferguson resigned as Posh boss on Sunday, leaving Posh to move quickly for McCann who has been out of work since being sacked by Hull City after back-to-back wins against top three Championship sides Blackburn Rovers and Bournemouth towards the end of January. McCann’s first home game in charge of Posh will be against Hull on Saturday (February 26).

Midfield maestro McCann was a hero of the game at Posh. He was a key man in the 2010-11 side which won promotion to the Championship via the play-offs. He scored in all three play-off matches against MK Dons (twice) and against Huddersfield in the final at Old Trafford.

McCann also had two stints as caretaker-manager at Posh and worked as assistant manager to Robertson and Graham Westley at London Road.

McCann has supported 105 competitive Posh matches in total, winning 42, drawing 28 and losing 35. That’s a 40% winning percentage in all competitions.

After leaving Posh, he managed Doncaster Rovers in the League One play-offs, past his former club, during the 2018-19 season before leaving to take charge of the Championship side Hull City that summer.

A shock slump in the second half of the 2020-21 season, precipitated by the sale of the club’s top two players, led to relegation, but McCann stayed and led Hull to the Ligue 1 title the following season. It was a first title for The Tigers in 55 years.

Hull were 10 points clear of the Championship relegation zone when McCann left last month.

The Northern Irishman still lives locally and has two sons at Posh Academy.