Exclusive: Hackett waxes lyrical about passion of Duncan Ferguson
We’re delighted to welcome former Premier League referee Keith Hackett as our exclusive columnist. Each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at Everton.
Keith Hackett has admitted that he admires the passion of former Everton forward and current assistant coach Duncan Ferguson.
The former Scotland international has been part of Everton’s first-team coaching staff since early 2014, having played over 250 times for the Toffees in two separate stints at Goodison Park.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin has personally credited some of his success to Ferguson’s coaching this season, naming him ‘the best possible mentor’ that he could’ve hoped for.
Talking exclusively to Goodison News, former referee Hackett was also complimentary of the towering Scot. Hackett said: “I think Duncan Ferguson epitomises what we all see as an old fashioned centre forward.
“I didn’t mind that, the one thing I always admired as a referee was passion. On the odd occasion he overstepped the mark but in reality, certainly, when I refereed him, he never did that.
“He always put in 100 per cent, and he was always a danger when the ball went into the box. There are great similarities between him and Andy Gray, this great ability.
“I think that the passion must come through on the training field and in his coaching.”
Ferguson has long been a firm fan favourite, but he couldn’t have hoped to endear himself more to the Goodison faithful than when he led the team to a win against Chelsea in his caretaker stint following Marco Silva’s sacking.
Ferguson truly does wear his heart, and Everton’s crest, on his sleeve. He’s as Blue as any other Evertonian, and you only need to listen to him speak about the club to come to that realisation.
Carlo Ancelotti is a supremely talented manager and by all accounts a fantastic man too, but the nature of his career suggests that it’s probably difficult for him to truly connect to the clubs that he manages.
That’s why Ferguson is so important. He brings genuine, wholehearted passion and desire to see Everton succeed to the coaching staff, and for that alone he is invaluable.
In other Everton news, France manager Didier Deschamps believes that Lucas Digne is often overlooked because he plays for Everton.