EXCLUSIVE: Duncan Ferguson on Everton interview, Carlo Ancelotti texts and knowing his time was up
Duncan Ferguson always knew the conversation was going to be brief, but even now, he can still remember the call from Bill Kenwright.
The Everton chairman was about to deliver the news that would not only bring an end to his time at Goodison Park but also end one of his dreams.
The call from Kenwright was to tell Ferguson that he had been unsuccessful in his bid to become Everton’s new boss. His dream was over.
Ferguson had just completed his second spell in caretaker charge following Rafa Benitez’s sacking and felt he was ready to become the club’s new full-time manager – or at least be given the opportunity to take the team until the end of the season.
He was aware that interviews for the role had already taken place by the time he received the chance, albeit at only 24 hours’ notice, to head to London and stake his claim for the job. He jumped at the opportunity as he had a feeling this could be his time.
But despite believing the interview went well, the Everton hierarchy opted to go with Frank Lampard. Ferguson would remain a coach under the former Chelsea midfielder, but it was at that moment when Kenwright delivered the news that the Scot started to plot his summer exit.
“The chairman called me and told me that I had been unsuccessful in the interview,” he recalls to the ECHO in an exclusive interview ahead of his departure from Forest Green Rovers.
“It was tough, and I had to accept it because I had never interviewed for the job before, even though I had been in the big chair.
“Obviously, when you get asked to go for an interview, you think maybe you are in with a very good chance.
“I got asked at the last minute to go down to London and do the interview, so I obviously felt something had happened in the other interviews and maybe they weren’t going that great.
“I thought I was in a strong position. But when I didn’t get the job, it was a tough one to take because, in my mind, I knew I had to leave. If you don’t get the job, you have got to leave, and that is what I did. I fell on my sword.”
Such was the emotion Ferguson felt when he heard the news that, before Kenwright had hung up, the devastation was already kicking in. Even now, he admits he could not think straight once he knew he wasn’t going to be Everton’s new manager.
“I may have heard words like ‘experience’, but at that time I was not thinking too straight and listening too much; basically, you are devastated,” he says when asked how the call went.
Ferguson’s exit was officially confirmed in June of last year. His last game at Goodison as part of the Everton coaching staff was the dramatic 3-2 comeback victory over Crystal Palace that secured the club’s place in last season’s top-flight.
“You don’t want to be part of the side at a great club like Everton that gets relegated, that’s for sure, because that would have been absolutely devastating for a guy like me,” he says.
“It was a massive relief for myself, but also for everyone in the blue half of the city. It was a massive relief that we stayed up. It was fantastic, but a great club like Everton should never be in that position.”
Prior to the arrival of Lampard, Ferguson had long felt he was ready to become a manager in his own right. Only the lure of assisting Carlo Ancelotti prevented him from departing Goodison following Marco Silva’s sacking in December 2019.
Ferguson impressed Ancelotti during the pair’s time together, and the two built up a close relationship that is still strong today. However, after just one full season at the club, the Italian shocked supporters when he left to return to Real Madrid.
The decision by Ancelotti to force his way out of Everton, having initially turned down Real’s advances, disappointed senior figures at the club. But while many in the game were left stunned by the 64-year-old’s exit, Ferguson had a feeling something wasn’t quite right with his boss during the final few months of his time on Merseyside.
“I knew he was going through a difficult time personally with his family and things like that,” he tells the ECHO when reflecting on Ancelotti’s exit.
“It was difficult for Carlo at that moment in time. I knew behind the scenes that it had been tough for him the last few months at Everton. I knew that because I was so close to him.
“The man has been class with me. I have total respect for him; we actually went on holiday together, and I have been to watch Real Madrid training and stayed in his villa.
“I was in contact with him regularly throughout last season. I texted him before some of the Champions League games, and he was actually texting me back going down the tunnel to the matches, and I was thinking, ‘Jesus, he is texting me!’
“When he left, I knew it was heading that way for a long time because certain things had happened behind the scenes, and it was tough for him.
“He was down in Crosby, and then he got broken into, and I have a standing joke with him because they robbed the safe, but there was nothing in it!
“There wasn’t a thing in it because he wasn’t too keen on going into his pockets; I remember that. The first time I brought Carlo to Liverpool, I paid for everything; in fact, I seemed to pay for everything every time I went out with Carlo.”
During their time together, Everton managed to end their 24-game winless run at Anfield and pick up their first win at the Emirates, but Ferguson’s proudest moment with Ancelotti came at the start of their blossoming relationship.
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