Ferguson will 'always dream' of managing Everton on permanent basis

Everton caretaker manager Duncan Ferguson said on Friday that he dreams of managing the club on a permanent basis, but admitted that he lacks the experience to do so at the moment.

Ferguson, who scored 72 goals in 273 appearances across two spells at the club, took charge of Everton for a second stint as interim manager following the sacking of Spaniard Rafa Benitez last week.

"I'll always dream about becoming Everton manager, but of course I've not quite got that experience," Ferguson told reporters ahead of their home game against Aston Villa on Saturday.

"My job at the moment is to take the upcoming games, steady the ship and the club will go through a process identifying the new manager.

"I'm sure they'll do that and they'll bring the new manager in."

Several names have been floated as candidates for the Everton job since Benitez's departure, including former Everton player and Derby County coach Wayne Rooney.

While Ferguson declined to comment on whether Rooney was the frontrunner for the position, he said that the former England international's history with the Merseyside club and his performance at Derby could work in his favour.

"Certainly Wayne has done really well at Derby hasn't he? He's an Evertonian and the fans love him," Ferguson said.

"Obviously that can be one candidate of many candidates. Wayne's obviously proved at Derby he's a very good manager."

Earlier on Friday, Rooney addressed the rumours linking him to Everton.

"Of course Everton is a club I grew up supporting," Rooney said. "I'm flattered to get brought up in those conversations, but I know Everton know that to have any communication with me they have to go through the administrators.

"I'm not letting anything distract me from the job I'm doing here."