Jack Taylor says the Blues will travel to Old Trafford without any fear as Town prepare to face Manchester United on Wednesday.

Town currently sit 18th in the Premier League table and are now five points from safety following the home defeat to Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday, but face an out-of-sorts United side going through struggles of their own.

The 13-time Premier League winners are just three places above the Blues in 15th and have lost five of their last six league matches on home soil.

As a result, Taylor, who revealed he is a boyhood United supporter, says Town have the belief they can claim their first victory at Old Trafford since 1984 and close the gap to Wolverhampton Wanderers above them in the standings.

“No matter who we’re going to face that’s the mentality, to go into any game without any fear,” he said. “If we bring the best account of ourselves we’ve got a lot of dangerous players and I think we can hurt them.

“It’s the pinnacle of English football and has been for many years now. It’s another game to look forward to and bring the best account of ourselves on the biggest stage.

“We also know that they’ve got really quality players and they can turn it on when they want. They’re obviously going through a tough patch at the minute so you could say it’s the right time to play them.

“You don’t expect them to be that low down in the table and being a fan myself I’ve still been watching them a little bit. They’ve got a new manager, a new system and things going on behind closed doors that I don’t think a lot of people know about.

“They’re trying to rebuild and I think they will get there with the right manager and hopefully they stick by him. They’ve got great threats that we’ll be ready for but there’s a lot of ways that we can hurt them.”

Ruben Amorim’s side are as close to the relegation zone as they are to the European places but still have a squad littered with quality and elite-level experience.

Among them is five-time UEFA Champions League winner Casemiro, who is likely to be directly facing Taylor if both are selected to play.

“If you were to say to me when I was playing in the National League that you’re going to potentially play against Casemiro on Wednesday I’d have said no chance but here we are, times are different in football,” Taylor said.

“I’m really excited to play against him and I played against him in the home fixture, we need to get that out of the way and focus on ourselves.

“They’re all great crowds, you don’t really count the seats in the stadium. It’s the club that I’ve grown up watching and supporting and my family are all big Reds.

“It’s going to be special but I’ve got to zone out from that fan mentality and focus on what we’re doing as a football club.”

Reflecting further on his support for the Red Devils growing up, Taylor says he will have plenty of family in attendance on both sides of the divide on Wednesday.

Asked whether the chance to play at Old Trafford will fulfil a childhood dream, he said: “It will be but it’s gone past being a fan now when you’re playing for yourself. I love this club as well so I’m going to do everything I can to try and get the win.

“My dad’s side of the family are all from Salford and are big United fans. They’ve got a lot of season tickets so they’ve not asked for a lot of away tickets but they’ll be a lot of my family there.

“My dad’s a season ticket holder. I’ve been playing games for my career so it’s been tough to get up there, but there were a couple of games I went to in the Europa League on a Thursday night while I was at Peterborough.”

The list of Man Utd legends down the years is an extensive one, but Taylor had two names in particular to pick out as his favourites that he tried to emulate growing up.

“I loved [Paul] Scholes when he was in his prime,” he said. “[Wayne] Rooney as well – those two were a joy to watch.”

While Taylor’s only league start this season came in the home defeat to Bournemouth back in December, he has featured in 19 others as a substitute with an important role to play.

Manager Kieran McKenna has often highlighted the importance of those that finish the game as well as start them, with the Blues midfielder echoing those sentiments.

He may even be in contention for a start in Manchester as a result of recent knocks to midfield duo Kalvin Phillips and Jens Cajuste.

“If that’s the case and the boss puts me in then I’ll be ready for it,” Taylor said. “It’s how I train and play to try and put myself in the starting XI each week. If the time comes and I’m playing I’ll be more than ready to step up.

“I’m delighted that I found out it was my 20th Premier League appearance on Saturday which was obviously a proud moment.

“I obviously want to start more games but the boss has always said it’s such an important role that I’m playing at the minute – whether that’s coming on to finish off games, try to bring the best account of myself, try and implement my style into the game and give the boss something to think about.

“I’ve had to adjust a little bit because it is completely different coming on and trying to impact the game when you get 10, 20 or 30 minutes.

“You’ve got to train the same as if you were starting and you’ve got to be ready for each action you’re going to make coming on as a sub. Whether it’s for two or three minutes you’ve got to come on and implement your job, it could be the difference between getting the win or a draw.”

This season is not the first time Taylor has been involved in a relegation battle, with the Republic of Ireland international a part of the Peterborough United side that were relegated from the Championship two seasons ago.

Asked whether he can take any lessons from that experience, the 26-year-old said: “Yeah, I think so. A lot of things went wrong that season and it’s not been the same here as we’re so together. We had a change of manager which makes things a lot more difficult, but it’s experiences.

“We’ve got a philosophy here for how we work and we’re not going to change just because of the position we’re in. We believe that the way we do things is going to be enough to keep us up so we’re not going to change for anything.”

Peterborough have been known for their ability to develop and turn a profit on a number of players, including Taylor who have gone on to play in higher divisions.

Harrison Burrows and Ronnie Edwards were two of those former teammates singled out by Taylor for their growth and rise since joining and leaving London Road.

“It’s all credit to Peterborough,” he said. “It’s what they’ve always done. They pick up lads from lower leagues and seem to push them on. We had such a good side for a couple of years and probably could have done a little bit better than what we did.

“Everyone is starting to prove themselves now and it’s really proud to see, especially H [Burrows] and Ronnie doing so well.”

Taylor is not the only footballer in his family having played alongside his older brother Harry while at Barnet, who is now at National League side Southend United.

On their relationship, Taylor said: “It’s still the same, we’ve still got the same job. We knew there was going to be a time where we had to go separate ways, we were playing together at Barnet and we were both playing really well to be honest.

“He’s been linked elsewhere but not seemed to get to the Football League just yet. I went on to Peterborough and then Ipswich snapped me up.”

TWTD

Dissboyitfc added 06:59 - Feb 25 out of form teams always seem to find form when playing us!
4

PortmanTerrorist added 11:18 - Feb 25 What a player Jack Taylor has been for us already, he literally never lets us down, and impacts games positively. Seems like a start is on the cards, and hope that all continues, as he could be our secret weapon....esp if he can get to unleash the odd thunderbolt from 30 yds! Even if they don't go in, it forces teams to be drawn out, and creates space in the front line. Would play him and Hirst ahead of Delap for this one. Can't wait! COYB we got this.

-2

runningout added 16:27 - Feb 25 headline is stating the obvious- just saying
0

Blogs 298 bloggers

Ipswich Town Polls