Forest Green Rovers set to make significant Duncan Ferguson decision | OneFootball

Forest Green Rovers are set to part company with manager Duncan Ferguson - less than six months after he signed a FIVE year contract in Gloucestershire.

That is according to Pete O'Rourke, who claims that the ex-Scotland striker is departing The New Lawn despite pre-season preparations being underway for the club as they return to League Two for the 2023-24 season.

Why are Forest Green Rovers set to part company with Duncan Ferguson?

The Daily Record in Scotland first claimed on their transfer blog (July 4, 12:55pm) that Ferguson's future was in doubt due to a change in the sporting structure at the club.

Earlier in the summer, Allan Steele arrived as the club's new director of football and he is said to be seeking an overhaul on the footballing side of things, which plunged Ferguson's future into doubt.

The timing comes strange though just days after it was reported that Ferguson was set to bring in a new number two to the club in the form of Forfar Athletic manager Ray McKinnon - the two were team-mates in their playing days at Dundee United.

If it was about results on the pitch, then you would have imagined owner Dale Vince would have made a decision on Ferguson just after the end of the 2022-23 season.

Ferguson arrived in January to replace Ian Burchnall, but Rovers were already struggling at the time and he was powerless to stop them from heading straight back down to League Two.

The Scot won just once in his 18 matches in charge last season, which surprisingly came against promotion contenders Sheffield Wednesday with a 1-0 victory secured at The New Lawn in March.

Ferguson picked up just six points from a possible 54 though, which contributed to Forest Green dropping straight back down to the fourth tier of English football just 12 months after winning the league title.

He put pen-to-paper on a bumper five-and-a-half year contract at the club when he arrived and stated he was there for the long-term, but it is not clear as to whether Ferguson is set to be sacked after less than six months or he is walking away from the job himself because of the new structure above him at the club.

What next for Forest Green?

Even though it hasn't worked out for Ferguson, there will probably be no shortage of suitors for the imminent vacancy at The New Lawn.

Rovers have the base of a squad that has already been added to this summer that can win promotion at the first time of asking once again, but they need a coach there who will get the best out of them.

Ferguson was perhaps more of a manager type and with the structure that Rovers have with a director of football, they may look towards the younger model of a head coach, much like Ian Burchnall and before him Rob Edwards.