FORMER Celtic and Blackburn striker Chris Sutton was in Northern Ireland last night to officially open the 33rd Dale Farm Milk Cup.
Sutton, who won the English Premiership with Blackburn Rovers in 1995 and three SPL titles with Celtic, arrived in Coleraine yesterday and added a touch of glamour to the international youth football tournament after it was revealed last month that regular attendees Manchester United had pulled out.
The Milk Cup's Premier and Junior competitions kick off today and the tournament will culminate with finals night at Ballymena Showgrounds on Friday.
Sutton had spells with Norwich, Chelsea, Aston Villa and Birmingham City but is best known for being Alan Shearer's strike partner as Blackburn won the English title in 1995 and for his exploits for Celtic between 2000 and 2006.
He was signed for Celtic by current Republic of Ireland manager Martin O'Neill and won three Scottish titles, three Scottish Cups, one Scottish League Cup and a runners-up medal in the 2003 Uefa Cup Final.
Although only capped once by England, Sutton formed a prolific partnership at Celtic Park with both Henrik Larsson and John Hartson. A DVD of his success story with Celtic was titled Sutton Impact.
When it was announced that Manchester United would not be sending a team to the north coast this year, Milk Cup organiser Jim Sandford said the decision came as a huge shock and showed "disdain" for Northern Ireland football fans.
In the Junior Competition today, some notable fixtures are Rangers vs Sheffield United, Co Tyrone vs Liverpool and AS Roma USA vs Co Fermanagh, while in the Senior Competition Newcastle play Higashi Fukuoka, Malaga play CSKA Moscow and Co Armagh take on Real Sociedad.
