THE Ferguson brand is back in football's big time. Twelve weeks on from being named manager of Doncaster Rovers Darren Ferguson has transformed them from League One relegation candidates to a team lying just six points outside the play off zone.
And on Saturday they face Premier League Stoke in the third round of the FA Cup.
For the first time in 58 years last summer, there was no Ferguson involved in British football.
Now Darren is making up for lost time. "This is a great tie for this club. We are at home to a Premier League club, the game will be a sell-out and we are in good form," he said of Doncaster's match at home against Stoke in the FA Cup third round on Saturday.
"You want to draw a big club, and you want to be tested as a team - and obviously you want to make some money."
Stoke manager Mark Hughes is a managerial protege of Ferguson senior after a glittering playing career at Manchester United and Ferguson junior is well aware that the Welshman has turned the club into a formidable attacking outfit, with the likes of Marko Arnautovic, Bojan Krkic and Xherdan Shaqiri proving as potent a unit as any in the top flight.
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| Darren Ferguson managed Peterborough twice and Preston once before taking Doncaster job |
"Mark Hughes has transformed Stoke," said Darren. "He has done a wonderful job there. We know we are in for a tough afternoon. There are several former Barcelona players in there, so you know what you are up against. They are a very, very good side."
Ferguson turned down the chance to take over at Leyton Orient as well as a move to the Major Soccer League in the USA in his seven months on the sidelines but instead spent his time watching coaches like Carlo Ancelotti.
When the offer arrived from Doncaster, however, it felt right. "I talk to my dad all the time and his advice was to make sure that your next choice is the right one," he said.
"I wanted to make the right decision after what happened at Preston [sacked after 49 games] but as soon as Doncaster got in touch and I met chairman David Blunt and chief executive Gavin Baldwin, I knew it was the right move.
"I'm very much a manager who likes to develop young players and that is our aim here. We want to build something."
Ferguson won three promotions in two spells with Peterborugh totalling eight years, taking them from League Two to the Championship and, after an abortive spell at Preston, returning to take them back up to the Championship and keep them there for two years.
He is now gradually rebuilding belief in a Doncaster side that were struggling when he arrived in October but he said: "We were 23rd in the table when I arrived, so the first thought was to get away from the relegation zone.
"There was a good squad here but a lack of belief. We had to put that back into them and we have managed to do that. We have changed things round, done a huge amount of work on the training ground - and the players have responded.
"This is a game that will show us how far we have come."
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