Dwight Yorke has backed himself to turn things around at Manchester United if Erik ten Hag loses his job at Old Trafford.
Manchester United’s preparations for the FA Cup final against Manchester City on Saturday have been clouded by rumors that Ten Hag is about to be dismissed.
The Premier League giants have had a disappointing season, ending in eighth place, and reports suggest that Ten Hag will be dismissed regardless of the result of Saturday’s FA Cup final.
While considering Ten Hag’s replacement, Manchester United has expressed interest in Thomas Tuchel, Kieran McKenna, and Mauricio Pochettino, who unexpectedly departed from Chelsea last week.
However, Yorke is also interested in the Manchester United job, asserting that he has what it takes to make a difference at his former club, which has struggled since Sir Alex Ferguson’s departure over a decade ago.
‘The kind of character, the way I come across, know how to coach, the little learning experience I’ve got, the people I’m going to bring in to make that football club better in my backroom staff is very important,’ Yorke told Mail Sport on behalf of Fastest Payout Online Casinos.
‘Manchester United is a job you can’t turn down. It’s too big a job. The DNA of football has been there. I’ve proved that I can manage in a short space of time in winning that [the Australia Cup].
‘Every time I’ve done what they’ve asked me, they seem to be moving the goal posts. Other people who have done far less in the game in the management department are getting three, four, five chances. It’s crazy.
‘There is not a job that’s going that I’m not trying to get. These are things that have been posed to me: “You don’t have your licence. You don’t have any experience” – went and got my experience, won a cup.
‘Now they say, “You don’t know the league, you’ve never managed in the league.” That’s the next thing.
‘My first managerial experience, which a lot of people don’t know, I managed in front of 75,000 people in Sydney against a Barcelona all-star team.
‘So I was thrown in at the deep end and shown straight away… that game ended up 3-2, a game we could easily have won that night.
‘It shows what you can do and bring to the team, but until you’ve got those chances, you never know, right? People are always going to put questions marks over you.’
Although Yorke has expressed interest in the Manchester United job, he believes Ten Hag should remain if he wins the FA Cup . United ended the season 31 points behind Manchester City in the Premier League, with Pep Guardiola’s team aiming to become the first to achieve consecutive domestic doubles following their title victory.
‘In my opinion, the FA Cup final is the make or break game for him,’ Yorke, 52, added.
‘If he wins then I think it would be very harsh on a manager who has had two seasons at the club, winning two major competitions, not too many managers have been able to do that.
‘If you were to win two cups in two years, I think that should buy you another year. But I do believe if he doesn’t, where we are as a football club, he hasn’t really advanced us.
‘From a football standpoint, he hasn’t produced what we expected him to produce. With Manchester United, the fundamentals in the game, which are structure, balance, and a system that everybody works with, I don’t see that.
‘I don’t see the pattern of play week in, week out. When people come in, they [should] have a clear identity and idea of the way the team is playing. I don’t see that.
‘I just see 11 players going out and it’s kind of a hit and miss. If something happens, brilliant, we win a game. But there’s no togetherness, no structure. I find it very disappointing from that standpoint.
‘Getting knocked out of the Champions League like we did, where we are in the league, you can look at all these things and realistically if you were to win two competitions in two years, that would buy him a little more time in my opinion.’
During his time at Manchester United, Yorke won five major trophies, but since retiring in 2009, he has only managed the Australian team Macarthur.