Duncan Ferguson has revealed he didn’t hold conversations with Everton over replacing Frank Lampard ahead of his appointment at Forest Green Rovers.
Everton are on the hunt for a new manager following Lampard’s sacking on Monday night. The Blues made the call to part company with the 44-year-old following a poor run of form.
Lampard won only one of his last 12 Premier League matches in charge of the Goodison Park club. And for the second season running, the Blues find themselves mired in another relegation battle.
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Sean Dyche and Marcelo Bielsa have emerged as the leading contenders to take over from Lampard, with the bookies, on Wednesday night, placing Ferguson as the third favourite for the role.
However, Ferguson was announced as Forest Green’s new boss on Thursday afternoon after the League One club parted company with Ian Burchnall 24 hours earlier. And speaking after his appointment was confirmed, the Scot revealed no one from Everton had been in touch with him over replacing Lampard.
“I have personally not had conversations, no,” Ferguson told Sky Sports News.
“I think there was always a chance, wasn’t there? There was a chance I was in the frame for it,” the Scot then added when asked about the speculation. "The club is going in a different direction now, aren’t they?”
Both Bielsa and Dyche appear to be the frontrunners for the job, but when asked who he would go for, Ferguson refused to be drawn.
He said: “Honestly I can not comment, it is down to the club, they are going to make the decision, like they have done with all the other managers and I wish them luck.”
Ferguson then added on Everton, saying: “Obviously they have had a difficult time, haven't they? They are bottom of the league and lost a number of games.
“They have changed their manager and are looking for a new manager. I wish them well. It is a fantastic club and one I will never forget. I wish them well for the future.”
The 51-year-old, who made 273 appearances for the Blues and also had two spells as their caretaker manager in 2019 and 2022, is taking on his first senior full-time managerial role at The New Lawn.
Former Everton team-mate Tony Grant will work alongside Ferguson as assistant head coach and the two will inherit a side four points from safety, who have won just five of their 28 matches this season.
But while Ferguson’s immediate focus is on keeping his new side in League One, he sees no reason why the Greens can’t push for promotion next season.
“This is a fantastic club. What they have done over the last four or five years has been incredible,” he said. “Obviously they have a great future ahead of them.
"There is a new stadium coming and a new training ground coming. It is something I am looking forward to being a part of. We want to stay in this division and then go into the next division.
"That’s the dream. We want to move up and we want to move on. This guy here is very ambitious and so am I. I want to get the best for the club and lets hopefully move up the division and move up to the next one.”
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