Taylor determined to hold onto proud record

Matt Taylor is determined to hold onto his proud record of never being relegated from the Premier League.
Matt Taylor in action pre-seasonMatt Taylor in action pre-season
Matt Taylor in action pre-season

Taylor - back after seven months out with an Achilles problem - is in his 11th season in the top flight, having played for Portsmouth, Bolton and West Ham.

And he believes he has escaped from worse scenarios than Burnley face at the bottom end of the table.

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The Clarets are two points adrift of safety with five games to play, and ahead of today’s key clash with Leicester City, Taylor said: “I’d like to keep that stat.

Matt Taylor in action pre-seasonMatt Taylor in action pre-season
Matt Taylor in action pre-season

“If I could keep that off my CV, that would be wonderful. I believe with the players we have there, there’s no reason why that shouldn’t be the case.

“Obviously I’m under no illusions, having experienced it before, how hard it is. But we’ve got enough quality in that dressing room, coupled with the work ethic to get ourselves further up the league.”

Portsmouth won six of their last 10 games to survive in 2006, and Taylor looked back: “We were in a quagmire there, but I don’t think we are in a hole here, that’s the thing. I’m not just saying that, I genuinely believe that.

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“As a football club we are completely stable. We are not in a hole. That is the genuine truth. I believe that. You look at everything surrounding us and this football club is only looking upwards.

“What’s the worst that can happen? We’ve got the freedom to go and play. So I don’t believe we are in a hole at all. That’s my honest opinion.”

Taylor’s experience means he will treat today’s game as any other: “You’ve got to play the game.

“There’s no point playing the occasion because you get carried away. When you go into a game, your adrenalin is running and you can let things overtake you.

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“I speak personally, I’ve done it for a while now, you stand out on the pitch and you don’t almost go into autopilot, but you accept football for what it is, it’s another game of football.

“It’s not, ‘Oh, my God, we’ve got to win, it’s life or death’. It’s a game of football and that’s ultimately what it is.

“If you over-egg it, it could have a negative effect on some people. That’s just my personal opinion on that.

“I’ve seen that because it’s a hell of a lot of pressure. You’re playing not just for yourself, but for your team-mates, your families and football at this level brings great privileges and playing in the Premier League is where everyone wants to be.

“I have seen it, but mentally for me, it’s made me much stronger as a person and a footballer to have gone through what I’ve been through in terms of relegation battles in the past.”