ALTHOUGH Dwight Yorke was unsuccessful in his bid to become the Reggae Boyz head coach earlier this summer, Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA) President Kieron Edwards says getting him to sign on as coach of their national senior men’s team was a “steal”.

The former Manchester United striker who helped lead T&T to the FIFA World Cup in 2006, was named manager of the Soca Warriors on November 1, replacing former international teammate Angus Eve.

Yorke, 53, has only managed Macarthur FC in Australia’s A League between 2022 and 2023, and applied for Jamaica’s vacant head coach position in July after the resignation of Heimir Hallgrimsson when the Reggae Boyz exited the Copa America tournament in June.

However, Yorke wasn’t a shortlisted candidate, with Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) Technical Committee Chairman Rudolph Speid saying he wasn’t interviewed for the role. Former England manager and Manchester United assistant Steve McClaren was then named head coach at the end of July.

Yorke was successful with his application to his home country, after being chosen out of five candidates shortlisted by the TTFA Technical Committee. He arrived in Trinidad on Friday and said, “I’m very excited, really honoured and privileged to be given such a prestigious position. I probably should say I thought it would be happening at some point in my career. I didn’t expect it to happen so quickly, but it’s something I embrace.”

When asked by i95fm’s Andre Baptiste about why they didn’t select an overseas coach to potentially help in the recruitment of English-born players, TTFA President Kieron Edwards says they didn’t want to follow the JFF as they believed hiring a local coach was essential.

“That’s not our pathway,” Edwards said. “Jamaica’s pathway is a bit different. They selected a coach based on their pathway to qualify for the World Cup. Our pathway is different; we need a coach that understands the culture we have, with players coming back in two, three days before a game.

“Dwight was the ideal choice for us, and he understands the culture of teams in Concacaf as well that we will face. They’ve changed the format of World Cup qualifying so we need now to get those guys revved up and get their mindset right in terms of that professional approach to the game. I think Dwight really brings that to T&T football.”

Edwards says TTFA is also getting value for money with Yorke’s appointment as it is spending significantly less than what the JFF is paying McClaren and his technical team.

“I’m not going to state Dwight Yorke’s salary but it’s nowhere close to [McClaren’s] numbers,” he said.

“What Dwight has done at this point for Trinidad and Tobago football, it’s not even about money for him at this point. Persons talking about McClaren’s salary and what not; persons in Jamaica will know the coach that we have and the salaries we have [available] for our coaches. [Yorke] is a steal of a deal, and it’s down to the management of the team and our executive to get this deal done.”

Edwards says Yorke’s main goal is to qualify the team for the 2026 World Cup in USA, Mexico, and Canada.

Trinidad is second with four points in Group B in the second round of qualifying, behind first-placed Costa Rica on six, and ahead of St Kitts and Nevis, Grenada, and The Bahamas.

Only the top two will qualify for the third and final round where only three teams out of 12 are guaranteed a spot at the World Cup.