STATE AND LYLE
‘Players are human, we struggle too,’ says Forest star
BY DAVE ARMITAGE
GOAL hero Lyle Taylor has opened up on the heartache behind Nottingham Forest’s amazing turnaround.
Substitute Taylor’s last-gasp stoppage-time double at Bristol City in midweek took Forest’s winning run to four under new boss Steve Cooper.
Suddenly Forest fans are buzzing but the 31-year-old has revealed how bad things got as they diced with relegation.
Taylor has given Cooper something to think about preparing for tomorrow’s visit of Fulham but says the joy of scoring won’t gloss over the pain. Taylor said: “It’s been one of the hardest years of my career.
It’s just not gone the way I dreamed. But you never get or expect any sympathy as a footballer – you’re not going to get it.
“All of the belief had drained out of the changing room, but the manager has come in and there’s a new lease of life.”
Taylor added: “It’s not just me, a lot of the boys have struggled in the last year. Don’t get me wrong, it’s been difficult for everyone. People have lost jobs and some have lost family. But we have all struggled.
“It’s just about being a bit understanding that footballers are people, we are human and we all struggle.
There’s the online side of it, there’s all sorts. You go shopping in Sainsbury’s and someone says, ‘Will you get out of my club’. You’re like, ‘Jesus Christ, just give me a chance, you’ve not even seen me play that much’.”
Taylor has knocked the manager’s door but says he totally understands the situation Cooper finds himself in because of the impressive form of Lewis Grabban (left) and Brennan Johnson
Taylor said: “It’s a case of me sitting there not being happy about it.
“I’m a footballer and I want to play but you have to sit there, bite your tongue and wait for the opportunity.
“The manager said to me at the end of the game, ‘That’s a life lesson, because you’ve done everything right, your head has not dropped. When the chance came, you have grabbed it’.”