Gaffer? He’s still just ‘Dunc’ to us says Everton’s Holgate

EVERTON players are not being instructed to call Duncan Ferguson ‘Gaffer’ as the Scot takes charge for the second time as interim manager at Manchester United today.

He made an immediate impact in Everton’s 3-1 win against Chelsea last Saturday, allowing the club more time to find a replacement for Marco Silva, with Carlo Ancelotti and David Moyes in the frame.

Ferguson, 47, was a playing legend at Goodison Park but defender Mason Holgate says he has not put on any airs and graces despite his promotion from the coaching staff.

‘We still call him Dunc,’ said Holgate. ‘He is the person everyone is looking to as the manager but, when you speak to him, he is exactly the same. That shows who he is and why we are all behind him so much.

‘He’s been getting us all firing in training and his team talk against Chelsea was unique. He loves the club more than anybody. That’s a fact and when someone has that much passion, it passes on to you. None of us saw the suit coming though! He looked good in it.’

Everton’s original intention was to appoint a permanent successor from outside the club but, if Ferguson gains a positive result at Old Trafford and follows up by guiding Everton into the League Cup semi-final when they face Leicester on Wednesday, the case to give him the job until the end of the season will gain momentum.

Holgate has already had six managers at Goodison Park since signing from Barnsley in 2015 and also saw Darren Moore sacked at West Brom during his loan spell last season.

‘Any time there is a new manager, in any league, there is a reaction,’ he says. ‘We showed against Chelsea we can get a result against a top team — and I don’t see why we shouldn’t have the same performance at Manchester United.’