Cats boss no longer a ‘friend’, says Yorke

Feb 19 2009 by Stuart Rayner, The Journal

RICKY Sbragia has lifted the fear of failure from the Sunderland players’ shoulders, but Dwight Yorke believes the biggest measure of the new manager’s success will be when his squad stop calling him “Rick”.

Although Sbragia is very different in personality and profile to his predecessor, Roy Keane, Yorke thinks the practical changes since the Scot took control at the Academy of Light have only been minor.

The veteran has noticed differences in the Scot’s persona and thinks in time they will be acknowledged by the language his squad uses towards him.

“People sometimes go from a coaching role to a management role and say they would never change but I think it’s a load of bull,” said Yorke.

“You’re going to have to change a little bit. You don’t want to change too much. He’ll feel he’s still Rick but you’ve got to approach him in a different manner, not just as a friend.

“I’m sure he likes people calling him Ricky but it’s a case of stepping up to the plate and saying, ‘I’m the manager now, the gaffer’.

“Eventually the players will realise they shouldn’t really be calling him Rick.

“He’s becoming ‘gaffer’ now. If I was the manager, I would like to be called the manager. If I’m your age and it’s (assistant manager) Neil Bailey or my staff, they can call me Rick.

“But the players think about it and try to do the right thing. You know in your heart of hearts calling him Rick is not the right thing.”

Yorke is good friends with his former team-mate Keane and, although he fiercely defends the Irishman’s record, he acknowledges a change of mood in training.

“You look throughout the team and nothing’s changed,” he said. “They’re the same players. The only

thing that’s changed is the position of the manager. Training is the same as normal.

“Rick might choose players differently but that’s a manager’s prerogative. There might be a slightly more relaxed mood. If there’s any changes, it’s not as intense.

“Everyone knows Roy was a serious guy and more intense. Rick is more laid-back, he takes his job pretty seriously but he’s a very approachable kind of guy. People have taken to him.

“You can play in a manner where you don’t fear making mistakes and getting told off. That’s the only difference.”

Yorke also feels that Keane will have no problems returning to management, so long as he wants to.

“When you look at what he’s done, people have very short memories,” he said. “That’s the reality of the sport. It’s just a matter of time if he plans to get back into the game because he’s got everything. It’s up to Roy, I suppose, and what he wants to do.

“He was one of the best I’ve played with and he’s got leadership qualities, as he showed at Manchester United leading the team the way he did.

“He’s got more than the aura about him to be a manager. People will love that kind of profile from having him as manager, that aura and presentation.

“But is that what management’s all about? Do you need that little bit more? Only Roy can answer that.

“I’m sure he will take a lot of experience from the two-and-a-half years of success he had here. He’s never been in that position before.”

When Sbragia was appointed caretaker boss in December, Yorke was billed as one of his assistants. But the reality is rather different, so Yorke bristles at being referred to as a “player-coach”.

“I refuse to be called ‘coach’,” he explained. “It happens when there’s a bit of banter but I’m not registered as a coach. So don’t call me coach, because I’m not a coach. I’m registered with Sunderland Football Club as a player only, it’s not a title that’s been given to me.”