DON’T BLUE FORGET ABOUT ME, CARLO
DUNCAN FERGUSON has urged Everton-bound Carlo Ancelotti not to rip up his Blueprint.
Caretaker boss Ferguson will stand aside for Ancelotti’s arrival following today’s clash with Arsenal.
Ferguson (below) is a novice of just three games in charge after Marco Silva was sacked earlier this month. But the Scot is blue to the core and knows Everton better than anyone – including Ancelotti.
So he will remind the Italian of the Goodison values after inspiring a mini-revival during his short tenure.
“You need tactics and a game-plan,” he said. “We’ve instilled that in the players, but of course you also need to run around, make tackles and win headers.
“You need to do the fundamentals of the game or you won’t get anything.
“Everybody has got a different way of playing football. Everyone has different formations and different approaches to the game but the way we’ve approached it has proven to be the right way.”
Ferguson, who wants to be part of the incoming manager’s plans, laid out his credentials. “Nobody knows the players better than me. I’ve been here many a year and hopefully the new guy coming in uses me,” he said.
In Ferguson’s three matches in charge, the Toffees have been transformed.
They’ve taken four points from Chelsea and Manchester United in the Premier League and staged a rousing comeback from 2-0 down to Leicester in the Carabao Cup before losing on penalties.
It’s a huge contrast from the Silva side that lost meekly to the likes of Norwich and Sheffield United at home.
And Ferguson insists there is no need for a revolution at Everton – as there have been too many of those in recent years. “We’ve had a lot of transfers and comings-and-goings through the club so we definitely need a bit of stability,” said the Scot.
“There is a good base here on the playing side but the new manager will have his own style and can assess it.
“But I will be here to help.”
Everton’s players have shown the galvanising effect a new manager can have. Arsenal will be banking on their own new boss, Mikel Arteta, to make a similar impact, with the Spaniard in the stands for his side’s visit to his old club. But Ferguson prefers to concentrate on how he and his team can give them another difficult afternoon.
“It’s about getting on the front foot, making sure we put Arsenal under pressure,” he said. “We have to expose their weaknesses and get the fans right up for it.”