DUNCAN Ferguson has admitted the most pleasing aspect of his debut win as Inverness Caledonian Thistle manager against Arbroath yesterday was the seeing the joy in the faces of the travelling supporters at Gayfield Park following the final whistle.
Ferguson, the former Dundee United, Rangers, Everton and Newcastle United striker who took over at the Highland club on Tuesday, jumped into the crowd at the end of the hard-fought 3-2 triumph.
Caledonian Thistle’s first cinch Championship victory of the season lifted them off bottom spot and above Morton on goal difference and sent the 229 fans who had made the journey to Angus into raptures.
"I am enthusiastic and I know how much these fans are committed to the football club,” said their manager afterwards. "They spend a lot of money and they travel up and down the country and this is the first time they have seen a league victory this season.
"It was quite emotional for me because it is never easy to win a game of football. To deliver three points for them was a great moment for me and for the team.
"But, believe me, it was the team who got the three points. I never headed a ball or scored a goal. I just set them up and pushed them as hard as I possibly could.
"It's not just about fans. I care about people. It not just the Caley Thistle or Everton fans. It's part of me. I'm a caring person. I like connecting with people.”
Ferguson, who had spells as Everton assistant manager under Carlo Ancelotti and Rafael Benitez as well as a stint in charge of Forest Green Rovers, certainly seemed to have connected with the Caledonian Thistle players at Gayfield.
They romped into a three goal lead in the opening hour thanks to goals from Luis Longstaff, Aaron Doran and Billy McKay and would have sewed up the three points far earlier than they did if they had taken one of the other scoring opportunities they created.
Ferguson was impressed with the heart his new charges, who had not won any of their previous 10 competitive outings, showed against Dick Campbell’s on-form men.
"The players were magnificent,” he said. “We created a good number of chances and should have had a lot more goals on the counter attack. To go in 2-0 in front at half-time was a good scoreline and we came out in the second half and scored another right away.
"It was a good effort from the players. I thought the 4-4-2 formation in the first half was particularly good. When we went back to the back five it never suited us as much. We invited a bit more pressure on us. All the boys, to a man, put their bodies on the line for the club.”
Gayfield was a far cry from some of the stadiums which Ferguson had graced in his career as a player and a coach down south – and the Goodison Park great admitted the absence of a fourth official had been a shock to the system.
"I only found that out before the game,” he said. "That was a bit of an eye opener. It was difficult to find out how many minutes were getting played, was it six or seven?
"It was a tough second half. They put a lot of players on the last line and they went direct, as we knew they would. Our keeper, made a great save at 3-1 to keep us in it. Fair play to Arbroath. They are a good team and that's why they were third in the league.
"But we should have been four or five up. We had a lot of chances, we just couldn't finish them. It was good to come away with three points. It's never easy to win any game of football. It doesn't matter what level it is at.”
He added: "They gave 100% and showed a lot of resilience. We need to be braver on the ball and keep possession a bit more. You could see them panicking. It set in as the game went on, which is understandable because they've now won for a long time.
"You start sinking and sinking. I try to push them up. It's human nature to try and protect what you've got. We have good players and we showed that in the first half in particular. We connected and combined our passes and tried to cut Arbroath open in the counter attack”.
Caledonian Thistle netted as many goals against Arbroath as they had in their previous six league games and that delighted former Scotland internationalist Ferguson – but he knows they have a great deal to work on going forward.
"I knew we hadn't scored a lot,” he said. “But how many chances did we create? We had a chance to score four and we never finished it off. It's something for us to work on.
"Our shape was very good and we trusted that in the first half in particular. The two strikers worked well. Wee Billy Mckay showed his experience with a good finish after having good chances in the first half. He kept at it and it was a great finish to go three up.
"It was a lovely finish from Aaron Doran too at the front post. Three goals away from home? You feel you deserve the points.”
Ferguson added: "But we need to finish off our counter-attacks better. We attacked on a number of occasions and never finished it off. That is something to work on in training. On a positive note, the boys worked extremely hard, so we need to keep that work ethic up.
"I am sure they were working hard under the previous manager and they maybe just never got the results. They lost 1-0 against Dundee United and Raith Rovers recently. They have been very close.
“The formation was a good starting point, especially in the first half. That was positive, as was the work ethic. The players gave everything for the shirt and that's what I'll push the players to do. Getting a good tactical set-up is important.”
Ferguson terrorised opposition defenders during his playing days and had a reputation for his wild off-field behaviour as well during that time – but he kept his cool even when Arbroath were staging a comeback on Saturday.
"That's the way I work,” he said. “I try to get tactical instructions to the players as well as encouragement. It is never over. I have a lot of experience, I am not a trainee coach. I have been through it all.
“It's never over until the referee's whistle. If we got the fourth goal then we'd be sitting a lot more comfortable. It only takes one goal. Look at their first goal. All of a sudden, your heart sinks. You know what's coming.
"It's just me. I just do what I do. As the goals go in, you know it's never over. Maybe the fans thought we were cruising at 3-0. I know it doesn't happen like and it didn't happen like that.
"It's my first game and I wanted to make sure I was calm. Although we were 3-0 up, I knew Arbroath would come back. That's why they are in the position they are in.”
Overall, Ferguson, who one scored a hat trick for Rangers against Arbroath at Gayfield, enjoyed his return to Angus.
"Other than that, the last time I was in Arbroath was at Pleasureland, which is still here,” he said. "I probably never had enough money for the Waltzers. I was probably trying to get the money from the wee tray underneath.”
