Taylor out to earn his Pompey stay

Ryan Taylor believes he has put himself back in with a chance of extending his Pompey stay.
Ryan Taylor. Picture: Joe PeplerRyan Taylor. Picture: Joe Pepler
Ryan Taylor. Picture: Joe Pepler

The Blues striker is one of 11 players out of contract at the end of the season and admits he has no idea if he will be offered fresh terms by Andy Awford, even though he is keen to stay at Fratton Park.

The 26-year-old himself admits he struggled for form early in the season and managed just two goals before the turn of the year.

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But a recent rich vein of form saw him net six goals in seven games – although he drew a second successive blank in the bleak 2-0 loss to Shrewsbury.

Ryan Taylor. 
Picture: Joe PeplerRyan Taylor. 
Picture: Joe Pepler
Ryan Taylor. Picture: Joe Pepler

Now Taylor is eager to press his claims in the remaining seven games of the campaign at a time when the season appears to be sliding towards an unsatisfactory conclusion.

Taylor said: ‘I’m not sure if I will get a new contract, to be honest.

‘We’ve been told that all of the players will get spoken to at the end of the season.

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‘At the start of the season, I wasn’t good enough and I’ve said that quite openly.

‘Before these last two games, in the past 10 games or so, I’ve done pretty well and scored a few goals so that has put me back in the picture.

‘Things have started looking up a bit more lately.

‘I’m very settled here, it’s a great football club with massive support and obviously I’m happy here.

‘A few of us are all in the same position but I will be working as hard as I can to get a contract.

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‘If you want to go through the motions and not get a contract, that’s up to you.

‘From my point of view, I will be working as hard as possible.

‘It’s the worst position you can be in if you don’t get offered a contract.’

While the former Bristol City man declined to reveal whether there had been contact from other clubs about a move elsewhere, it’s safe to assume he would not be without offers if he does not stay at Fratton Park.

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In the final six months of his existing deal, Taylor is permitted to speak to other clubs but has not yet entered into negotiations.

And he also accepts that modern life in the lower leagues means there is little chance of a lengthy contract waiting for him.

He said: ‘I’m not bothered about speaking to anybody else.

I’m concentrating on what I need to do here.

‘It’s only clubs in the Championship or the Premier League that offer players three, four or five-year deals these days, because they have that stability.

‘In the lower leagues, it is one or two-year deals if you are lucky.

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‘The lower down you play, the less money clubs have got so they can’t be offering long deals.

‘I understand that and I don’t have a problem with it.

‘It means you have to work hard and I’ll certainly be doing that to try to earn a contract here.’

Taylor also knew Pompey were second best to Shrewsbury and deserved nothing from the game.

He said: ‘It felt as though we were waiting for things to happen, rather than going out and grabbing the game by the scruff of the neck.

‘It’s a disappointing result and a very disappointed dressing room but we’ve got to pick ourselves up and go again next week at Carlisle.’