Ged Scott on how the T&T star never forgot the man he still calls 'boss'...

If the highly unlikely happens in Nuremberg this evening and Dwight Yorke proves to be Trinidad and Tobago's match-winning hero against England, then there's really only one man to blame.

As the biggest influence on the former Aston Villa striker's career, Graham Taylor would have a lot to answer for if it did prove all Dwight on the night.

He was the man who helped Yorke make a name for himself in English football by transporting him from a Caribbean beach and into his Villa team more than 16 years ago.

He has also been the father figure to whom Yorke has turned on many occasions throughout what has not always been the smoothest careers.

And, most recently, it was Taylor who persuaded Yorke to come out of international retirement at a time when Trinidad's most famous footballing son had fallen foul of the authorities.

Not, as Taylor acknowledges with a slightly embarrassed grin, that the former England manager would have envisaged any potential conflict of interests at the time.

"I was approached by the then-Trinidad and Tobago coach, Bertille St Clair. He was also Dwight's manager when we signed him all those years ago, " said Taylor. "We've kept in touch down the years, he asked me to have a word and I was happy to.

"I've always remained in close contact with Dwight and I just reminded him that, no matter what had been said and done, this would be his only chance to play on the biggest stage of all. And that he would always regret it if Trinidad and Tobago qualified for a World Cup finals and he wasn't there."

Making it to a World Cup finals was clearly a stage that neither his ex-Villa manager, nor the player himself, thought he would ever reach when Yorke was offered his dream £12 million move to Manchester United in the summer of 1998.

It had been eight years since Taylor had left Yorke and Villa behind to answer his country's call. But, once again, it was to Taylor that Yorke turned for advice.

"I remember him phoning me up to ask what I thought," said Taylor.

"And I remember saying to him 'You've got the best team in the country wanting to take you to the biggest ground in the country, to play Champions League football, which is the biggest stage you're ever going to play on, given that Trinidad are never going to make it to a World Cup finals'. All I said to him was 'Dwight, son, what exactly have you got to think about?'"

It now seems astonishing that the former Villa favourite should be in Germany at all. He might have scored 98 goals in his eight years at Villa Park but, since the continued success of his first two seasons at Old Trafford, after which fame seemingly went to his head, it has been downhill ever since.

His final two years with United, distracted by his off-field antics, proved a flop, as was his two-year stay at Blackburn Rovers, following a cut-price £2 million move to Ewood Park.

And, as for his ill-fated move to Birmingham City, nothing he did in a Blues shirt matched the headlines created by his last-minute arrival at the August deadline.

It might easily have all turned sour for Yorke sooner when playing under the stern command of Sir Alex Ferguson. But not before the greatest night of his professional life in Barcelona's Nou Camp Stadium back in May 1999.

And, although there was a dramatic 90 minutes for him to experience before a European Cup winner's medal came his way, Yorke was not slow to acknowledge a few of his past debts.

"I was back at Watford then," said Taylor. "We'd just won the First Division playoffs but I got a call from Dwight just before he went out to play that night against Bayern Munich.

"'Boss', he said. 'I just wanted to thank you for all the help me getting to where I am. Without you none of this would have happened.

"And that says it all about the Dwight Yorke I know. For all that you hear and read about Dwight Yorke, there's another side to everyone.

"He still calls me 'Boss'. And, although I'll naturally be hoping he doesn't score against England, if he does have some success in Germany, I'll be absolutely delighted for him."