‘Playboy’ Dwight is a leader of men

May 3 2008 by Luke Edwards, The Journal

Dwight Yorke has only played a handful of games for Sunderland this season but his manager believes he has been as important as anyone in keeping the Black Cats in the Premier League. Chief sports writer Luke Edwards reports

AS the playboy prince of the Premier League, most people would have expected Dwight Yorke to end his playing days running bars and nightclubs rather than a football club, but do not be surprised if he is on Sunderland’s coaching staff next season.

As the most eligible of bachelors, Yorke’s career has been almost as notable for his busy social life off the pitch as it has for his silky skills on it.

For every match-winning performance during his glory days at Aston Villa and Manchester United, there was a glamorous woman on his arm, and Yorke’s famous smile on the pitch revealed a man who enjoyed all the pleasures available to a top Premier League footballer.

As a result, when the Trinidad and Tobago international strutted his stuff at Old Trafford as one of the best strikers in European football he was called many things, but a manager-in-waiting was not one of them.

“When I was with him at Manchester United I don’t think I’d have said he could become a manager,” said Roy Keane, who used all his powers of persuasion to get his former team-mate to swap Sydney for Sunderland two years ago. “He would probably have been a good manager of a bar somewhere, but that was about it. But now I’d say he has a very good chance of becoming a football manager. He loves his football and he knows his football, and that’s part of the battle.”

Keane has often referred to Yorke as Sunderland social secretary since he returned to English football after one season with Sydney FC, but his influence has been more important than arranging the odd night out for the squad. At 36, Yorke’s impact on the pitch has been limited to the occasional cameo performance, but Keane still believes he has been his most important signing.

“He has been the best signing I’ve made as a manager in 20 months. He has done exactly what we hoped he would do in terms of what he does on the field, what he does off it and how he leads the dressing room,” he said. “We have had a tough dressing room this year in terms of disappointments but Yorkie and Deano (Dean Whitehead) played a big role in that, they have kept everyone together, even down to looking after the young kids whoever they may be.

“When he signed 20 months ago he said he would get us promoted and keep us in the Premier League so he has done everything asked of him.” In a squad desperately short of top-flight experience, Yorke has – in contrast to the light-hearted image he had in his pomp as a player – been a wise, old head for the Black Cats. The relaxed approach to the highs and lows of the game is still intact, but there is also a sharp brain behind the beaming smiles and Yorke has been one of Keane’s key men, a sympathetic lieutenant to the Irishman’s strict general.

“I think our team spirit has been absolutely vital in keeping us up,” explained Nyron Nosworthy. “It was always going to be difficult for us this season after coming up from the Championship and there were going to be plenty of highs and lows. Our team spirit has been vital in keeping us up. When you are losing games, it’s how you bounce back that matters, and we have done that time and time again.

“We’ve always stuck together through the good times and the bad. There is a lot of banter in the dressing room and there are a lot of different characters in there, but Yorkie is one who stands out. He is a very bubbly character and has had a very important role to play behind the scenes. He also has lots of experience and he has been through so much during his career.

“He is always able to offer advice and he has helped keep the confidence up when things have gone badly. For me, he definitely has what it takes to be a manager or a coach. For me, his people skills are second to none and that’s a very important part of being on the coaching side of things.

“With everything he has achieved in the game, he has fantastic knowledge as well. When he was younger, I don’t think many people would have thought of him as a manager, but everybody matures with age.” Given the success of other former Manchester United players who have gone into management – Keane, Mark Hughes, Paul Ince and, to a certain extent, Steve Bruce – it is not beyond the realms of possibility that Yorke will also head into the dug-out when he does finally hang up his boots.

Significantly, though, it seems Keane is determined to ensure he remains at Sunderland for the time being, where a player-coach role could be up for grabs next season.

“He is not leaving yet, we will have a chat next week,” said Keane. “We have lacked experience and players who have played in the Premier League before, but Yorkie has that. We’ll be looking for more players with that sort of experience in the summer.

“The players who had previously played in this division, they had only ever experienced relegation so it’s important to get one or two in who know the score and who have played in the Premiership before. It’s the toughest league in the world at the moment, but we have players and brought players in who didn’t have many games in the Premiership under their belt.”