Irish League manager - and Everton fan - would 'absolutely love' chance to take on hero Duncan Ferguson amid Glentoran move

Ferguson’s impending arrival in the Irish League has sparked widespread excitement, but perhaps nobody is quite as thrilled about his shocking move to Northern Ireland than King.

King was just 13 when Ferguson joined his beloved Toffees from Rangers for a British record transfer fee – around £4million – and watched him score 60 league goals across two stints at Goodison Park.

It was during his second spell when King got a chance to meet Ferguson following an invitation to the club from David Moyes, who was his manager at Preston North End.

A natural-born competitor, King doesn’t require any extra motivation to pick up results in his role as Newry City manager – but taking on hero Ferguson would likely stand as a career highlight.

With Newry currently in the Championship, that opportunity will be limited to the luck of cup draws for now – King returns to his old club Carrick Rangers in Tuesday’s BetMcLean Cup clash with Glentoran receiving a bye.

King has been reliving memories of Ferguson in recent days, introducing him to young son Charlie through YouTube videos, and can’t believe the Scotsman is now destined for the Irish League.

"Gazza (Paul Gascoigne) was my man when I was growing up, but big Dunc's always been my Evertonian,” King told the News Letter. “I'm like a child at Christmas!

"I got my son watching all big Dunc's videos yesterday, that's what it's all about...he has his heroes, all these young guys now playing in Spain, but I'm showing him all the old school videos of him fighting people!

"I think he's a people person too, I think he's really approachable...I have got videos from him for my birthday and stuff like that.

"I had a team talk yesterday about trying to get promoted...I want to put myself up against big Dunc! The boys were laughing at me.

"I'd absolutely love it. When you're a manager, you just want to beat whoever you're playing against.

"Not to the same extent, but I played with David Healy at Preston, so when I came back and he was Linfield manager, I wanted to take my team to Windsor...I'm forever grateful for getting there and doing that.

"But, yeah, big Dunc, I never thought I'd be able to do that in the Irish League. It's either up to us to get an Irish Cup or League Cup draw or for us to get promoted!”

Ferguson is undoubtedly one of the highest-profile appointments in Irish League history – he is a cult hero of English football, known for his aggressive style and physical dominance.

The 54-year-old won silverware with Rangers and Everton during a successful playing career, but hasn’t yet tasted success as a manager.

He won just one of 18 matches in charge of Forest Green Rovers and suffered relegation at Scottish outfit Inverness Caledonian Thistle, who entered administration amid financial trouble – Ferguson worked for free at stages to help the club through their crisis.

However, King feels it’s refreshing to see Glentoran look outside of Northern Ireland for Declan Devine’s successor – and believes Ferguson’s arrival is a major boost for the Irish League.

"It's unbelievable, I love it, I think it's class,” added King. “He will take no prisoners.

"He will respect everybody, but he’ll not care about reputations or what people have done before.

"I think it's a bold move, but I think it's quite clever because the people who were linked to the job were all Irish League people, same old, same old.

"He's just going to come in and not care if you're David Healy or Jim Magilton or David Jeffrey, the ones who've been there and done it, he's just going to come in and give it everything.

"Honestly, he's a cult hero. I think everybody loves him. Even Liverpool fans I think have a soft spot for him.

“He's got a lot to prove as a manager, like I say, it's a real bold move, but it's something that I think is going to be really interesting.

"It's going to add to the Irish League, it's a massive profile boost for the league. I have all my friends in England ringing me about it...it's really, really exciting.

"He worked with Carlo Ancelotti...now he's Glentoran manager. It shows you how far the Irish League has come. It's phenomenal."

While some fans are concerned by Ferguson’s lack of Irish League experience as they look to end what will become an 18-year wait for league title glory in 2027, King feels it was time to try something new.

"They've brought in people who know the Irish League and it hasn't worked for one reason or another,” said King. “This is something different.

"It's generally the same people applying for jobs, same people getting the jobs, same profile of manager. This is totally different.

"It hasn't worked for the Glens for quite a while, so why not try something different and go for a fresh approach?

"I know everybody has contacts, but I'm sure Duncan's contacts are a lot better than anybody else who applied for the job.

"I told my board I was resigning to get a season ticket to the Glens...I'll be going be going under cover to watch big Dunc!”