Duncan Ferguson believes he should have been appointed Everton boss over Frank Lampard

Duncan Ferguson believes he should have been appointed Everton boss over Frank Lampard.

The 52-year-old former footballer made the step-up to caretaker boss in 2022 after being assistant manager at his former club and thought he’d be appointed to the position full time, and while Frank – who departed in January 2023 after a year at the helm – was given the role instead, he knew it was his time to leave.

He told FourFourTwo magazine: “I had to leave because I had my pride but also Frank Lampard had taken over and you don’t want someone who’s interviewed for your job sitting three or four seats back – it just doesn’t look good.

"Frank wanted me to stay, but once you’ve interviewed and don’t get the job, you’ve got to fall on your sword.

“I honestly thought it was the right time and that they should have given me the job until the end of the season – I’d proved myself and I knew the squad, I knew the club and I knew the fans.

“To be fair, they brought in Frank, we worked fantastic together and he saved them from relegation, so it worked out alright in the end, albeit it went to the wire.”

Duncan spent 10 years in coaching roles at Everton and admitted he worried about his future every time a new manager came in.

He said: “Guys like Carlo Ancelotti don’t keep people on their staff if you’re not decent.

“Believe me, every time I lost a manager, I thought I was gone but I knew I was good at my job and I was loyal.

“I’d like to think that if anyone ever said one thing to you about Duncan Ferguson, the word is ‘loyal’. I stuck by all those managers.

“But Sam [Allardyce] was going through maybe the toughest part of his career on that touchline at Everton and he’ll tell you what type of fella I am."