DWIGHT YORKE has said he wants to replace Remi Garde as Aston Villa manager.
The ex-Manchester
United striker spent nearly nine years at the club prior to his move to
Old Trafford.
And he believes that he possesses the “understanding” to bring the relegation
certainties straight back up into the Premier League.
Yorke said: “I would be lying to you guys if I said I wasn’t interested in the
job.
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“I respect the manager in the position at this point in time but in terms of
passion – yes. Aston
Villa is a club I spent ten years at. I understand the club, the fans
have been great. It’s where it all started for me in the first place.
“It’s not just a role that you come in and be in management. It’s the whole
understanding of the game and what you can bring to the table.
“So yes, if that vacancy comes up, there is no question I’ll be [putting
forward] my name and trying to get in there as a manager.
“I do love the club, I understand the club and with my experience and a team I
can put together to try and bring Aston Villa back.
“It’s something that I am passionate about.”
Yorke revealed his ambitions of managing the club earlier in the campaign when
Tim Sherwood was sacked as boss.
Villa
instead appointed Frenchman Remi Garde on a three-and-a-half-year contract.
Garde, however, has overseen just three victories, with only two coming in the
league, and the former Trinidad & Tobago international believes the
manager could have done more to transform the club’s fortunes.
Yorke, speaking to talkSPORT, said: “[Garde] had 26 games when he came in –
that should be sufficient enough to try and give them a fighting chance. He
hasn’t been able to turn it around.
“The players have been equally to blame. There are good enough players in that
dressing room to get Aston Villa out of the situation.
“You need more than that, somebody who understands the football club, who gets
more out of the players and Remi Garde hasn’t been able to do that. Every
interview he’s done, there’s no positiveness coming out of it – at least
show some fighting spirit with nine games to go.
“We know they’re likely to go down but these players are not showing anything
and I think it stems from the top.
“It’s been so negative within the Aston
Villa camp that these players, when you look at them doing interviews,
they are scared for the whole interview, and there’s no leadership quality
or guidance from anyone.”