Premiership: Yorke puts club before country
Dwight Yorke has retired from international football in an attempt to save his Manchester United career.
Yorke’s commitments with Trinidad and Tobago, together with his antics off the pitch, have been a source of friction with Sir Alex Ferguson and so the striker has opted to put United first.
Yorke knows his future at United is uncertain after he slipped from first to fourth in the strikers’ pecking order last season.
Yorke’s fall was precipitated by his repeated trips across the Atlantic to represent his country and now he wants to concentrate on winning his place back at United.
A spokesman for Yorke’s management company SFX said: ‘‘Dwight has been torn between club and country commitments for the last few years and after considerable soul searching he has decided that his Manchester United career must come first.
‘‘He has been honoured to represent Trinidad and Tobago for the past 14 years and wishes them every success in the future.’’
The release from SFX followed an earlier joint statement from Yorke and his Trinidad and Tobago team-mate Russell Latapy, who has also retired from international football.
The statement read: ‘‘We believe that this is in the best interest of all concerned, and want to thank the fans in particular for their support over the years, and wish the national team every success in all their endeavours.’’
Former United striker Sammy McIlroy feels Yorke’s decision could help revive his fortunes at Old Trafford.
As Northern Ireland manager McIlroy knows all about the club versus country tug-of-war over players and he has no doubts that Yorke has done the right thing.
‘‘Without a doubt his international commitments were a big stumbling block between the two,’’ he said.
‘‘I feel a bit sorry for Dwight and it’s not like he’s jetting off to Belfast or Glasgow when he goes on international duty, he’s flying half way round the world for eight or nine hours.
‘‘I’m sure deep down the boy wants to play for his country, but he’s coming back jetlagged and tired and I think he’s realised he can’t go on any longer.’’
Yorke has been continually linked with moves away from United since he lost his first-team place, although his former club Aston Villa have denied they want to re-sign him.
McIlroy feels Yorke will remain at United because the departure of Teddy Sheringham and the arrival of Ruud van Nistelrooy maintains Ferguson’s preferred number of four strikers.
‘‘Ferguson has always said he wants four strikers and that’s the number he’s got at the moment,’’ he said.
‘‘Dwight has proved he is a quality player who can score goals and he hasn’t become a bad player overnight.
‘‘He was also unlucky that Teddy Sheringham started like a house on fire and had his best season for years.
‘‘Dwight can still do a job for United and I think he will stay.’’