Taylor relishing the prospect of next season at Tranmere

May 3 2008

THE final week of last season found Andrew Taylor reflecting on the need to take his football career in a new direction. Twelve months on, the 22-year-old full-back is a happier soul, content that he is on the right track with Tranmere.

The turning point came midway through this season when Taylor accepted the opportunity to leave behind the unexciting routine of reserve team football at Blackburn and moved to Prenton Park on loan.

It could have been just another temporary assignment in the lower divisions for an England under-21 international who had waited in vain for three seasons at Ewood Park for the chance to play in the Premiership.

He’d been out on spells with Queens Park Rangers, Blackpool, Crewe and Huddersfield –18 games in all – but still wasn’t tasting first-team football with the hometown club that nurtured his talent since schoolboy days.

Taylor recalls: “This time last year I just been recalled from a loan at Huddersfield. I was sitting in the reserves at Blackburn and just waiting for the summer. It wasn’t the best time.

“I was thinking that the following season I needed to get out and play some games. I was 21 and had 18 league games under my belt, which is not a lot for a player of that age.”

Another loan, to Tranmere, was an attractive first step for a player who relishes the keen competitive edge of first-team football.

But this time it was different. After two months in which he demonstrated his potential with a succession of impressively solid displays, Rovers manager Ronnie Moore asked Blackburn if the move could be made permanent in the January transfer window.

Another club, Blackpool, also showed an interest but Taylor chose to stick with Prenton Park, where he instinctively felt at home. Tranmere paid a small transfer fee to Blackburn and knew they had a bargain.

Taylor says: “Now I have been his six months I feel very much part of the team Tranmere. Every game you play at first-team level adds something new to your experience.

“That’s the main attraction of being here.

“I’m testing myself against different opponents and different problems every week and learning how to deal with them.

“I’ve played 31 games so far this season which is by far and away the most I’ve ever played in a season. It’s exactly what I wanted.”

Those 31 performances earned Taylor recognition this week as the supporters’ young player of the season. He had high hopes they would also lead to an appearance in the League One play-offs. But Tranmere’s challenge ran out of steam in April and, as they prepare for this afternoon’s final fixture at Northampton Town, an eighth- placed finish is the best they can achieve.

Taylor said: “It is disappointing to miss out. I felt when I signed the permanent deal in January that we had a good enough squad to get into the play-offs. We’ve just got to start again next season. A lot of the players should still be here and we can have a right good go.”

The summer break may actually be too long for Taylor’s liking.

He said: “It an exciting prospect for me to be starting a full season of first-team football next August, for the first time. I can’t wait.”

But there is a dark cloud on the summer horizon – the gruelling ordeal of a pre-season programme designed by Tranmere physio Les Parry.

Taylor has heard about the forced gallops up North Wales mountains and the pounding runs in the sand of the Wirral coastline.

You can detect the quaver in Taylor’s Lancashire voice when he says: “I’ve heard the pre-season training here is quite different, to say the least.

“So I’ll be a little bit nervous, wondering what I have let myself in for.

“I don’t like mountains, except for looking at. I don’t like beaches, except for lying on. I guess no pre- season programme is supposed to be enjoyable. You have to get through it. Then the exciting part starts again.”