Littbarski backs Yorke
By David Lewis (The Daily Telegraph)
SYDNEY coach Pierre Littbarski has vowed not to repeat the cardinal sin of leaving Dwight Yorke on the bench again - which could be bad news for the Central Coast at Aussie Stadium tonight.
A smile more luminous than a Caribbean sunset was replaced by a thunderous scowl after Yorke was told to take a seat on the bench for last week's shock 2-1 loss at Newcastle.
After communicating his displeasure to Littbarski with a few choice words, Yorke came on to score his second successive goal for his club to leave contrite Littbarksi admitting: "Dwight was angry and that's the reaction you want from players when they are not picked in the starting team.
"It should be that way always.
"I actually feared he might pick up an injury after his 30-hour flight [back from international duty with Trinidad and Tobago]. That's why I left him out but when he came on he showed what he's all about and I won't be making the error of putting him on the bench again the next time he plays for his country [in October].
"You can also be sure he will start against the Central Coast."
The same assurance cannot be made to fellow strikers David Zdrilic and Sasho Petrovski, who have scored one goal between them so far this season. "One of them will drop out, I haven't decided which yet," added Littbarski. "It's the job of strikers to score goals and it hasn't been happening for them."
The match, Sydney's second league outing at Aussie Stadium, is expected to attract a crowd of around 13,000.
"You can expect a close game because there isn't much between any of the teams in this competition," added Littbarski.