Former Manchester United striker Dwight Yorke has revealed he applied for the manager’s job at Sunderland in 2022 but received no response on the matter.
I’m not sure how difficult it is to other jobs, but I think we’ve all applied for stuff and never got a word back in response, though Yorke has decided to take it personally after spending the final years of his playing career with Sunderland.
Yorke believes the Black Cats did not even consider him as a potential replacement, describing the snub as “a bit of a slap in the face”. He didn’t only represent Sunderland as a player either because he had a stint as assistant to Ricky Sbragia following Roy Keane’s departure.
Tony Mowbray was recently sacked as Sunderland manager and I think we can be sure that Yorke won’t be wasting his time applying for the job again, not that he wouldn’t love an opportunity to work at the Stadium of Light.
Speaking to AltIndex, Yorke said (via The Mirror): “I have tried applying for the Sunderland job before and I’d love to have that opportunity, but I’m not sure if they’d give me a chance.
“I applied before Tony Mowbray joined, but I didn’t get an answer or acknowledgement. It’s a bit of a slap in the face to not even hear back. I’m not saying I don’t want to go for it as it’s a great club, but it seems the same faces are linked with the job. It can make you a bit despondent, but if they were to ask me to put a CV in, it could be worth a chance.
“I might do that now that you’ve reminded me. Learning on the job doesn’t seem to exist anymore, though, and it seems as if you have to have an abundance of experience to be considered for the job and defy the odds. I grew up in the Caribbean and I made it to Manchester United.
“I managed to defy the odds as a player, but it feels like I’m being told that I can’t do that as a manager. I’m not sure what happened to the underdog getting a break. It’s as if you need years of experience before you’re given a job.”
Yorke’s only experience as a manager was when he spent seven months in charge of Australian club Macarthur, but he left that role earlier this year and is now looking for something new.
The 52-year-old added: “I look at a lot of managers in the Championship or League One and I’ve never heard of them before. It makes me wonder how that’s possible.
“I have a good playing background, and a decent background in management, and I can’t get in. Yet the other guys are getting jobs ahead of me, and I’m scratching my head wondering how that’s possible. That’s just life, though, and if success was easy, everybody would have it.
“I’m sure all the work will be worthwhile. No football clubs owe anyone a favour – I found that out the hard way. You would think that clubs would have a look at the work you’re doing in management, monitor your progress, and take a chance with you, as that’s how you’d assume it works. Playing opportunities are given that way, but it doesn’t seem to work that way in management.
“It’s one thing if you’re given a chance and you’re not up to the job, but we’re seeing the same managers being given chance after chance, and it makes you wonder where the fairness is. It’s tough to take, but it’s a part of life and you have to learn to live with it and believe that, with enough work, your chance will come.”
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