Dwight Yorke stepped down as Macarthur FC head coach after barely six months in charge as the former Manchester United striker was linked with another A-League post.

Yorke, 51, has been suggested as the man to take over from Steve Corica as boss of Sydney FC, the club where he spent a year as a player.

Macarthur said the club and Yorke had "mutually agreed to part ways, effective immediately".

According to Macarthur, the agreement will allow Yorke "to pursue other opportunities".

His assistant, fellow former Trinidad and Tobago international Russell Latapy, has also left Macarthur.

Macarthur, based in the south-west suburbs of Sydney, are competing in their third A-League campaign. They won the Australia Cup under Yorke's leadership in October.

Yorke said of his departure: "I want to thank the chairman Gino Marra, CEO Sam Krslovic, all the ownership group as well as all the staff and fans of Macarthur FC.

"I leave the football club with a great team that will continue to challenge for more silverware."

Macarthur sit sixth in the A-League but have lost six of 13 games this season, while Sydney FC are worse off, in ninth place in the 12-team competition.

The News.com.au website said Yorke was set to step in at Sydney, although Corica remains in charge there for now, with his team suffering a 1-0 defeat to Western United on Saturday.

The A-League's official website reported Yorke and the Macarthur board clashed after Friday's 1-0 defeat to Adelaide United.

Both Barcelona's Adama Traore and Western Sydney Wanderers' Adama Traore got on the scoresheet as the Blaugrana saw off the A-Leagues All Stars in a 3-2 friendly win on Wednesday.

Xavi's men beat their hosts at Accor Stadium in front of an engrossed local crowd in New South Wales, as Ansu Fati's strike with 13 minutes to go claimed victory for the visitors.

In just the third-ever A-Leagues All Stars game – and first since 2014 following the format's revival – Dwight Yorke's side fell behind to the Spanish heavyweights just past the half-hour mark.

Ousmane Dembele – potentially playing his final match for Barca – latched on to a throughball before striking a clean left-footed strike into the bottom-right corner to ensure the visitors were ahead at the interval.

But Wellington Phoenix midfielder Reno Piscopo bundled home early in the second half to level matters after Barca were sliced open at the back, and he then teed up Ivory Coast international Traore to take a surprise lead.

Hopes of a shock scalp were dashed though when the latter's namesake – in possibly his last Blaugrana game as well – equalised as the goalkeeper failed to keep out his ferocious drive.

Fati then got the winner five minutes later, providing a cool finish after Antonio Aranda's solo run.

Former Trinidad and Tobago and Manchester United striker Dwight Yorke has signed a deal to coach Macarthur FC in Australia’s A-League. Yorke replaces Ante Milicic and will lead the Bulls for the next two seasons in what will be his first role as a senior coach.

“Having played in the augural A-League Men’s season I have continually followed the competition and am aware of both the footballing and fan demands in Australia,” said Yorke, who played for Sydney FC in the augural season of the A-League.

“I look forward to adding a positive contribution and improve the game at all levels. Of course, my primary focus will be with the Bulls, to deliver them success and a style of football that defined me as a player.”

Yorke, 50, enjoyed a successful career as a player. He won the treble – Premier League, FA Cup and  Champions League in his first season with Manchester United in 1999 when he scored 18 goals to be the leading scorer in the league.

He represented Trinidad and Tobago on 72 occasions scoring 19 goals.

Dwight Yorke is determined to achieve success in style in his first head coach role with A-League side Macarthur.

The former Manchester United and Aston Villa striker was on Sunday confirmed as Ante Milicic's successor, signing a two-year deal with the Bulls.

Trinidad and Tobago legend Yorke, who spent a spell with Sydney FC during his illustrious playing career, is ready to take his long-awaited opportunity with both hands.

He told the club's official website: "I am extremely excited in what is my first-ever senior full-time head coaching role, to take the reins at Macarthur FC.

"Having played in the inaugural A-League men's season, I have continually followed the competition, and am aware of both the footballing and fan demands in Australia.

"I look forward to adding a positive contribution and improve the game at all levels, however of course my primary focus will be with the Bulls, to deliver them success and a style of football that defined me as a player."

Macarthur chief executive Sam Krslovic said: "On behalf of the board of Macarthur FC, I would like to welcome Dwight to the club.

"Dwight's football exposure and achievements speak volumes for themselves. As a young club, the appointment of Dwight is synonymous with our evolution."

Former Manchester United striker Dwight Yorke believes incoming Manchester United manager Erik Ten Hag needs to be given full control at the club if there are to return to the top of the English Premier League.

Erik ten Hag must be given "full control" to rebuild Manchester United, says former Red Devils striker Dwight Yorke.

Ajax coach Ten Hag signed a three-year deal with the option of another year to replace interim manager Ralf Rangnick at the end of the season when the German moves into a consultancy role at Old Trafford.

The 52-year-old will have a sizeable task on his hands in Manchester, with questions surrounding the captaincy of Harry Maguire, and the futures of Cristiano Ronaldo and Paul Pogba.

United also look set to fail to qualify for the Champions League next season, sitting six points behind fourth-place Arsenal, who defeated Rangnick's side 3-1 last Saturday and have played a game fewer.

Indeed, the Red Devils have not lifted a trophy for five years and Yorke called on Ten Hag to embrace the significant challenge in his new role.

"I think [Ten Hag has] got a very difficult job," Yorke told ESPN. "Simply because it has been a bit of a disaster for us as a football club in terms of personnel and where the team is at.

"There's no hiding place in that. We're not where we're supposed to be. But there's a new beginning, a new start for a manager who a lot of people don't particularly know.

"Obviously, he has done well in Holland. [But] the Premier League is a whole new ball game. Manchester United's manager is on a whole different level.

"You've seen the previous managers that have come there with big names and big reputations and they haven't really got over the line. There's no doubt the job at hand is something he needs to embrace."

Rangnick has previously suggested United may need up to 10 players to compete in the following campaign, with United expected to be incredibly active in the next transfer window.

While Rangnick is expected to oversee proceedings at the club, including transfer activity, in his consultancy role, Ten Hag has already insisted he would not have taken the job without some ruling over signings.

Yorke believes Ten Hag must be given time to succeed and full control to help United transform into a force to be reckoned with once again.

"I keep saying that he has to embrace going in there and have full control," said Yorke, who scored 48 times in 96 league appearances for United between 1998 and 2002.

"If he has full control he can implement his style, his way, and the players that he wants on board to make sure he can get the best out of them. I think that is the key.

"I think they will give him time, the fans are aware of that. But they want to see progress. I know people are saying it will take some time but ultimately they will want to see some progress along the way.

"I can only stand and watch and wish him the best in many respects. But there is no doubt this is the biggest job in world football and with the struggles we've encountered this season, there is no way that is going to be an easy task for him."

Dwight Yorke has claimed Manchester United did not need to sign Jadon Sancho due to the emergence of Mason Greenwood at the time.

Sancho joined from Borussia Dortmund in a big-money move in the last transfer window, though the winger's arrival was somewhat overshadowed by Cristiano Ronaldo's sensational return to Old Trafford.

The 21-year-old has struggled for form since the transfer and was dropped by England after disappointing in his initial showings for United.

However, Sancho – who has accumulated 744 minutes across all competitions for his new club – finally found the net against Villarreal on Tuesday after previously going 14 appearances and 10 shots without finding the net.

His Champions League strike was his first goal for the club, having failed to score before United and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer parted ways with the Red Devils sat eighth in the league.

But Yorke expressed his confusion as to why United signed Sancho when they have Greenwood, who stormed onto the scene in 2019-20 before he became only the second teenager to find the net in the opening three matches of a Premier League season this term.

"I think people forget these are young men that come in with huge expectations," Yorke, who finished as United's top league goal scorer in 1998-99, told Stats Perform. 

"He hasn't had the best of campaigns with England. We've seen that missed penalty, that can have a knock-on effect as well. All those little things, things that young players have to deal with. 

"I am a fan; I just probably think it would have been a little bit too early for us to bring him in. 

"I think we didn't need Sancho at the point in time with the emergence of Greenwood. I just think that was a position that we didn't really need to go for."

United are reportedly edging closer to appointing Ralf Rangnick on an interim basis, with a permanent solution set to be found at the end of the season.

The 63-year-old will no doubt know about Sancho, who is the only player from Europe's top five leagues to have scored 10 goals or more and had at least 15 assists across all competitions in each of the previous three seasons.

Despite questioning whether his arrival was necessary, Yorke added how exciting Sancho's potential can be for United, who travel to Chelsea in the Premier League on Sunday.

"However, you still cannot underestimate the talent the boy does possess," he continued.

"He's definitely one for the future. Again, we have an English product and we want to make sure that we continue to pick up the English players. 

"But sometimes that can get a little bit overwhelming at times and people get ahead of themselves a little bit. But there’s no question in my mind that he's a very talented young man and will be a great asset to the football club going forward."

Dwight Yorke appreciates Harry Maguire is going through a tough phase but implored the centre-back to keep things simple to battle through his dip in form.

Maguire joined Manchester United in August 2019 for £80 million – a world record fee for a defender - from Leicester City on a six-year contract, with the option of a further year.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was the man to bring the England international to the club, though the Norwegian and the Red Devils have now parted ways with United eighth in the Premier League after a 4-1 humiliation at Watford.

Maguire was the first to admit the players must "share the responsibility" for Solskjaer's departure, with his downturn in form coinciding with United's struggles in recent months.

Former striker Yorke, who won three successive top-flight titles at Old Trafford between 1999 and 2002, wants the 28-year-old back at his best to aid United's revival.

"These guys are supposed to be world class," Yorke told Stats Perform.

"This is the number one England defender, stand-in captain when Harry Kane doesn't play. It's just crazy how things change so quickly and opinions of others change so quickly. 

"Listen, you go through phases in your career. And it's never going to be an easy part where you play every game and you get an eight or nine each game and stuff. 

"You're going to have challenges in your time and Harry Maguire is obviously going through one of those phases.

"Especially in a team that is not winning games, you come back into a team that is not winning, not high on confidence, you’re going to be low on confidence and you're going to be making mistakes. 

"And unfortunately, when you're at a club like Manchester United, you're going to be scrutinised, right, left and centre. If you don't perform well, you’re not going to get away with it at Manchester United, and Harry Maguire is no different."

Michael Carrick has been placed in temporary charge as United search for an interim appointment, which looks likely to be Ralf Rangnick, before hiring a permanent solution at the end of the season.

In his first game at the helm against Villarreal, Carrick managed to sure up a shaky defence that has conceded 21 times in the Premier League, only Newcastle United and Norwich have been breached more (both 27).

Maguire captained the side in Tuesday's Champions League clash but Yorke believes the solution for the defender is to return to the basics that have previously served him so well.

"We're talking about someone that we invested £80million in so there's a huge expectation for him," he added.

"Now he has to get back by doing what Maguire did in the first place, that has got him all this recognition, which is to defend and make the game very simple. 

"When you start making it complicated you cause problems, especially in a team that is struggling on confidence at the moment. 

"And this is where if I was Carrick, I would get back to just the basics of getting these players doing their job and doing it well in their areas rather than trying to complicate the game like they are doing at this moment."

Dwight Yorke believes criticism of Cristiano Ronaldo for having a negative influence on Manchester United is "absolutely crazy".

Ronaldo made a sensational return to Old Trafford at the end of the last transfer window, moving back to United after a 12-year absence following spells with Real Madrid and Juventus.

The Portugal forward struck twice on his second debut for the Red Devils against Newcastle United and has added two further goals to take his tally to four in the Premier League.

The 36-year-old has been especially prolific in the Champions League, netting six times as he became the first player to score in the first five matches of a European Cup/Champions League campaign for an English team with his most recent goal in the 2-0 win against Villarreal on Tuesday.

But United's form in the 2021-22 campaign has been far from inspiring, with the club eighth in the league after parting ways with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer following a 4-1 reverse at Watford.

Criticism has been directed at Ronaldo, who some believe does not have the work rate to lead the line, but Yorke disagrees with suggestions that the forward is a disruptive presence.

"That's just rubbish, nip that in the bud," Yorke, who won three successive Premier League titles with United between 1999 and 2002, responded to Stats Perform. 

"For people to be questioning every now and then about how disruptive he has been to the football club, it's just absolutely garbage. 

"I mean, you have arguably the best footballer in the world. You want, and any manager wants him in your team, and you've just got to fit the puzzle around him. As simple as that. 

"You know, make him happy, make him do what he does best which he's been able to do for nearly two decades of his playing career. It's sensationalist. 

"It was crazy how ex-footballers and pundits, people could say that he can be disruptive at Manchester United, which is a farce. 

"This guy is sensational. He's a rare talent. He wants to win at all costs, you can see that winning mentality, it is a rare thing. And for people to be saying that he is disruptive at our football club is just absolutely ludicrous."

Michael Carrick will be United manager ahead of their trip to Chelsea, who are winless in the last seven top-flight meetings between the pair.

Reports suggest former RB Leipzig boss Ralf Rangnick will become the interim manager until the end of the season, when the club will look for a permanent appointment.

Mauricio Pochettino has been strongly linked to the role but, whoever the manager, Yorke thinks it is on all the players to get United back to where they belong.

"It's all well and good having a world-class player, other people have to come along and join in that bandwagon and get us back to where we were," he added.

"There is no question in my mind that the team that we have, and the quality that we have possessed in that squad, we should nowhere be near where we are today. 

"We should be definitely challenging for the league, and all the other competitions because I think that we have got one of the best squads in world football at this current time. 

"But for some reason, we haven't been able to back that up with performances. And for people even trying to point the finger at Cristiano Ronaldo is just absolutely crazy, in my opinion."

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