Aston Villa legend Dwight Yorke has urged John Carew to tone down his reputed partying ways in order to establish himself as a Villa Park great.
The towering Norwegian scored a hattrick for Aston Villa against Reading at the weekend, but the 30-year-old has often found himself rotated by Martin O’Neill since joining the club in 2007. Yorke, who was renowned for his partying ways, suggests the former Lyon and Valencia striker has all the tools to be a world beater but it is up to him to harness his obvious ability.
The former Aston Villa forward believes Carew will always be lumbered with the ‘playboy’ tag, but suggested the 6ft 4in hitman can knock that tabloid reputation on the head by continuing to show his obvious qualities which were on display against Reading at the weekend.
The Aston Villa legend told the Birmingham Mail: “Enjoy it, that’s what’s life’s all about,”
“Just make sure you don’t take your work for granted. Enjoy the rewards that come from it because it’s not forever.”
“John Carew’s got all the ingredients. He’s got the potential to be a great player. He’s big, he’s strong, he’s quick.”
“It depends on how far these guys want to go. It’s all within you. It’s not got anything to do with anything else, it’s within that individual person. “
“Is he in a comfort zone, is he happy just being at Villa? Or does he want to extend himself to be better? And that has to come from within.”
“Unfortunately he’s always going to get that playboy tag from now on.”
“When you’re partying, people wait until you have a slump and then they sort of blame that. So you’ve just got to try and get the right balance.”