UTD Podcast: Dwight Yorke on events that shaped his life and Sir Alex Ferguson

“I didn’t quite get it. I mean obviously now I understand where he was coming from, knowing the manager himself a little bit more. That was my second year. I finished top scorer, I think, with 26 goals in total over the season. First year 29, second year 26. The manager said I was a failure. I didn’t get it at the time. I look back now and I totally understand where he was coming from.

“I understand that, each year, you need to better yourself and I didn’t do that. At the time, even though I felt I justified myself as his number one striker, being top scorer for two years running. I felt that was a great return. Don’t forget that the FA Cup was taken away from us. We didn’t play in the FA Cup.

“A lot has been said about it because the lads probably enjoyed themselves in Brazil but we didn’t get a chance to defend our FA Cup which again, with the team that we had and the way we went on to win the Premier League that year, who is to say we were not capable of defending the FA Cup? So that was an opportunity gone, for whatever reason, on the political side of football, that we as players didn’t get involved in but that was a big blow to us because we didn’t get to defend the FA Cup that year. Maybe I could have finished up with more goals.