Taylor made for the job (16.09.05)

Magpies’ new supremo is familiar face

THE latest brave soul to take on the taxing role as Maidenhead United manager is Carl Taylor – a familiar face to many at York Road.
Taylor spent many years at the club as assistant to Alan Devonshire, but now the buck stops with him.
After turbulent spells as assistant at Hornchuch and Leyton FC, Taylor is happy to be back at Maidenhead, but is under no illusions about the task ahead.
He said: “It will be a challenge, but that’s fine by me.
“This level of football is tough, it’s not easy to get back-to-back wins. That level of consistency is hard to come by.
“The odds are against me, but that just makes me more determined.”
He added: “At the moment Maidenhead are getting relegated and it’s my job to turn that around.”
But Taylor’s first task is to get 11 players on to the park at Carshalton on Saturday, especially as a number of the club’s players have already jumped ship.
Taylor said: “I know Lee Kersey has gone back to Windsor and I think about four others have gone. I expect another three to possibly follow shortly.
“However, I’ve had a lot of calls from players and I expect to have about 20 players at training tonight (Thursday).
“I’ll know where I stand after tonight.”
Carshalton are the team widely tipped to finish bottom, so for both sides it’s a match they will have pencilled in as a ‘must-win’.
But this winnable clash presents problems for the new manager, who said: “Yes it’s one to win, but Carshalton are going to be up for it also.
“Then the following week we have an FA Cup match which won’t be so easy to get players in for because some will be cup tied.
“After this we have some real tough ones. I actually believe we have played a number of teams who were beatable.
“But we’ll be looking to play a more attacking style of football, so we’ll see what happens.”
Taylor certainly believes he has the skills to breathe confidence into what he sees as a defeated unit.
He said: “I bring enthusiasm, man management and motivational skills to the job.
“I will look to improve the mental environment at the club and raise the players’ expectation levels.”
But will he need to use his powers to win over the fickle fans at York Road?
He hopes not, saying: “I’m expecting a good reception from the fans. I know them and they know me.
“It’s important to me to build good relationships with the fans and they will play a vital part in trying to keep us up.”
Taylor will also be looking for support from assistant Tony Choules who is helping at the moment, but as a former well-known manager he is considering offers from other clubs.
“We’ll just have to wait and see if Tony decides to stay,” said Taylor, adding: “I hope he does.”

IN SAFE HANDS: Carl Taylor gets to grips with the job. Ref:90079/3