Souness peace pact

Blackburn manager Graeme Souness today played down his training ground bust-up with Dwight Yorke. The pair clashed after Yorke put in a heavy tackle on his manager during a six-a-side match.

Souness, a tough-tackling midfielder in his playing days, is said to have responded with a crunching tackle on Yorke, for whom he paid Manchester United £2.2million in 2002.

It is reported an argument ensued, during which Souness accused the striker of being "a f****** playboy".

The Scot has now admitted a row did take place, but played down its significance. He said: "These things happen on training grounds every week in football and you move on. You want your players to be competitive and we'll speak about it."

Yorke, who has one year left on his contract, has lost out this season to young strikers Paul Gallagher and Jon Stead.