'Open-minded' - Ex-Aston Villa and Man Utd man wants Sunderland job after Michael Beale's sacking

Dwight Yorke has thrown his hat into the ring to manage Sunderland.

Yorke left Manchester United in 2002 and after subdued stints at Blackburn Rovers and Birmingham City, it looked like his career in England was over.

A move to Sydney FC followed in 2005, but Yorke lasted just one season there before being tempted back to England by Roy Keane.

Yorke won promotion from the Championship under Keane and helped the club retain its Premier League status. The former Aston Villa and Manchester United striker now says he would be open to taking the Sunderland job after the sacking of Michael Beale.

He told Gambling Zone: “I’ve played for these clubs and it would be nice to go back to Sunderland, but it doesn’t mean that I’d rule out managing another club in the EFL. I have to be open-minded to the challenge I’d have to take on.”

Beale was relived of his duties on Monday afternoon after losses to Huddersfield Town and Birmingham City with Mike Dodds to take interim charge until the end of the season. Yorke was a vocal critic of Beale's appointment last December.

Speaking in December, Yorke said: “Was I surprised at Michael Beale’s appointment? Well, people are given chances from failed opportunities and it baffles me.

“He was an assistant at Villa, did OK. Did OK at QPR then went to Rangers and got sacked and now he’s at Sunderland.

“Here we are in a space of a year and there’s someone like him in three or four jobs! You’re just trying to scratch your head at how that works and based on what results.