“There's nothing in it at all," he said today. "We're in the middle of re-signing players just now and getting our squad sorted for next season.

"I'm sure Dwight's got a lot on his plate too over there at Sunderland to be thinking about playing for the Mariners.

“[Coast chairman] Lyall Gorman had a coffee with Dwight maybe six or seven months ago. That's all.

"And he's going overseas next week and part of that trip will be to have a chat with some of Yorke's representatives, but to say he's signing for us, it's disappointing."

He added: “First thing I knew was when I read about it. I've spoken to our chairman and he's had to go on Fox Sports to deny it.

"There's nothing behind it. It's not an agent getting carried away, it's the journalist.”

The story of Yorke's alleged signature for next season popped up this weekend in the Fairfax press.

It went into details about the salary Yorke would command, where he'd live and how he'd contribute to the club's coaching structure.

Meanwhile, McKinna says the washout on Saturday night against Sydney FC was a blessing in disguise for his players.

“We were looking a wee bit flat," he admitted. "It's probably a blessing as we can freshen up ahead of the match against Roar next week so it came at a good time.

"And we could have the likes of Tommy Pondeljak and Nigel Boogard back from injury next week.”