Everton great Ferguson leaves to pursue managerial opportunities

Ferguson, who scored 73 goals in 273 appearances for Everton across two spells at the club in his playing career, has been a member of the first-team coaching staff on Merseyside since 2014.

He has worked under Roberto Martinez, Ronald Koeman, Sam Allardyce, Marco Silva, Carlo Ancelotti, Rafael Benitez and, most recently, Lampard, with Everton unable to find stability in the Farhad Moshiri era.

Everton just scraped to safety at the end of last season, with a 3-2 comeback win over Crystal Palace ensuring their status as a Premier League ever-present continued.

However, financial difficulties mean another difficult off-season could be in store, with star player Richarlison having already left for Tottenham, while Dominic Calvert-Lewin is reportedly attracting interest too.

You'll always be an Everton Giant.Thanks for the memories and best of luck with your next move, Dunc.

— Everton (@Everton) July 4, 2022

Lampard will now have to deal with the loss of Ferguson, who twice oversaw Everton on a caretaker basis.

Firstly, in 2019 after Silva's dismissal, Ferguson led Everton to a 3-1 win over Lampard's Chelsea, a 1-1 draw against Manchester United, a 2-2 draw with Leicester City in the EFL Cup – though the Toffees lost on penalties – and a 0-0 draw with Arsenal.

The Scot then took over for one game after Benitez was sacked in January this year, yet Everton lost 1-0 to Aston Villa at Goodison Park.

"It's been a massive decision for me. An incredibly difficult one but I need to move on, to take that next step in my career and look for that new challenge. Being a caretaker manager has given me confidence to step into management," he told Everton's official website.

"It was difficult last season but this club is definitely heading in the right direction. It's a fantastic club.