It follows Burnley's decision to part company with Brian Laws earlier in the day, although the two Lancashire clubs are in very different situations.
Burnley sacked Laws as they felt they should have been challenging for automatic promotion. A win over Scunthorpe on Tuesday would have seen them in the play-off places, but a 2-0 loss left them two points adrift.
Preston are bottom of the table, with Tuesday's 3-1 home loss to Middlesbrough ensuring they start 2011 five points from safety.
It raises questions over the future of defender Eddie Nolan, on loan to the Iron from Preston.
He had fallen out of favour with Ferguson, hence his move to Glanford Park, but his displays this season will have impressed visiting scouts as much as they have Iron supporters.
Nottingham Forest moved to within a point of the play-offs with a 5-2 thrashing of east Midlands rivals Derby County at the CIty Ground.
Luke Chambers put Forest ahead, with Marcus Tudgay and Robert Earnshaw both scoring a brace. Luke Moore and Kris Commons, a former Forest player, netted for the Rams.
Cardiff City have agreed a deal to sign the striker James Vaughan from the Premier League side Everton. They will pay £1million for the player.
Tony Mowbray, the Middlesbrough manager, has no plans to sign Jonathan Woodgate on loan - despite speculation linking the Tottenham centre-back with a return to his hometown club.
Spurs are willing to send Woodgate, 30, out on loan to regain match fitness but it does not look like the Riverside Stadium will be his destination. Woodgate spent two years at Boro after joining from Real Madrid in 2006.
"It's news to me - we will wait and see what January brings," said Mowbray.
"Anybody who takes Woodgate would expect him to play and while [David] Wheater and [Matthew] Bates are here it would be difficult for me to bring in a loan player and disappoint one of our own players. Loans are always difficult.
"It's not something at the moment that I'm working on but I know Woodgate was a big success as a player here."
The Leicester City manager Sven-Goran Eriksson is still setting his sights on a promotion push this season, despite Tuesday's 2-0 loss at Millwall leaving his side perilously close to the relegation zone.
"The play-offs are still realistic for us, but we have change the way we play away from home, because if we carry on like this then it is not going to be possible, so we have to change," he said.