http://www.sunderlandecho.com/sport?ArticleID=2708199Dwight is all right for top flight
Dwight Yorke
View GallerySTERN JOHN is confident that influential countryman Dwight Yorke has another Premiership season in his locker.
Yorke will be 36 in November this year but has grown into his role at the heart of Sunderland's promotion-chasing team.
After an uncertain start following his move from Australian champions Sydney on August transfer deadline day, the veteran has proved to be a key figure in the Black Cats' rise up the Championship.
But can the former Manchester United and Aston Villa star be such an important player again in the high-velocity world of the Premiership?
John insisted: "I would really like to see Dwight back in the Premiership.
"He has certainly got the experience, but with his vision and the way he can pass the ball, I think he still has a part to play if we manage to get there.
"Dwight's one of the Premiership greats. He's one of the top scorers in the history of the Premiership. He might not have quite so many goals there now, but his experience has been a big help to this club this season and he seems to have the desire to keep going."
Yorke ranks in the top ten of scorers since the Premiership was born in 1992, netting 122 top flight goals for Villa, United, Blackburn and Birmingham.
He's more settled pulling the strings in midfield these days, creating opportunities for John and his fellow forwards.
Former Nottingham Forest and Coventry striker John is also eager to get back into the big time.
He added: "It's the only place to be. If you are a professional, then it is the only thing you should aspire to. We haven't got there yet so none of us is saying that we're back in the Premiership.
"But I feel I am a Premiership player and one of the reasons I came here was because I believed this was a club on the up and would get to the top flight. Playing in the Premiership is what drives me on and it's the same for all of the guys."
Sunderland will be promoted this weekend if they beat Colchester on Saturday AND second-placed Derby fall to an unlikely defeat at home to virtually-relegated Luton on Friday.
A Black Cats victory at Layer Road would also bring promotion if third-placed Birmingham collect one point or less from their away games against Leicester tonight and Wolves on Sunday.
