EXCLUSIVE: Everton icon Big Dunc feel he has been unlucky in his management career so far – and is desperate for another crack in the Goodison dugout
Duncan Ferguson has had some memorable moments at Goodison Park – and that is an understatement as big as the man himself. How about his first goal for Everton? A deadlock-breaker against high-flying Liverpool in the Merseyside derby… 24 hours after being locked up in the nick for drink-driving.
And then there was the one against Manchester United that he celebrated by whirring his shirt around his head, one of the iconic images in Everton’s modern history.
But, arguably, his proudest moment as a Blue came when he managed the club for the first time, taking over as interim boss after Marco Silva had been sacked late in 2019.
And in his first match at the helm, he led the Toffees to a memorable 3-1 triumph over Frank Lampard’s Chelsea at a euphoric Goodison.
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Ferguson says: “An incredible moment of my career. One that you will never, ever take away from me. I even kissed Frank. It can’t be a good idea to kiss the opposition manager, especially when you have just beaten them but Frank took it well. He knew what it meant.”
Ferguson had two short spells as caretaker manager of Everton, the second after the ill-fated reign of Rafa Benitez came to an end in January 2022. Since then, Ferguson has been in charge at Forest Green Rovers, who were bottom of League One when he joined in January 2023 and where he won only once in 18 matches.
At Inverness Caledonian Thistle, he lost only 16 of his 53 matches but had to leave when the club went into administration. And those experiences have not lessened his determination to make it in management.
Don’t forget, in that first four-game stint as caretaker Everton boss, Ferguson did not lose, beating Chelsea and drawing against Manchester United, Arsenal and Leicester City.
“I have been incredibly unlucky in my management career,” says Ferguson when we chat ahead of the publication of his autobiography Big Dunc.
“The first team I went to was at the bottom of the league and I should not have gone and I lost my last job through administration. But when I was at Everton, they improved, they moved up the league. Inverness improved. Forest Green stayed the same.
“I managed Everton for four or five games under real pressure. I have put in a hell of a lot to work, and I have a hell of a lot to offer.”
For someone who was, putting it mildly, reluctant to talk to reporters during his controversial playing career, Ferguson has made quite an impression in a couple of recent media appearances.
And he is likely to be working for TV on one of the most poignant days in Everton’s history – Sunday, May 18, the day of the last game at Goodison Park.
“The first thing about that day is that I will be very sad,” he says. “The place is ALL our memories. Fans, players, dads, mums, grandads, great-grandads.
“I’m very sad that we are leaving. I would have much preferred to stay there but I guess time moves on.” And Ferguson wants to move with it. Having had a taste of it in those short spells, one ambition burns brightly.
He says: “I know it is a long way off at the moment but football can move very quickly and, don’t forget, I have managed in the Premier League.
“I want to be on that touchline for Everton. I want to manage Everton. That is my dream.”
Big Dunc: The Upfront Autobiography by Duncan Ferguson, with Henry Winter, is published on 8th May by Century
