Watching Liverpool’s party made Taylor green with envy... and hungry for more
THE images of Liverpool players cavorting in celebration of a longawaited Premier League triumph stirred the full range of football emotion. For supporters of the Anfield club there was unbridled joy, pride and release after a 30-year wait for the title. From rivals, there was everything from respect, grudging or otherwise, to outright envy.
Greg Taylor has absolutely no axe to grind with Liverpool, but that didn’t stop the Celtic defender feeling downright jealous, too.
A congratulatory text to his Scotland colleague and left-back mentor Andy Robertson was heartfelt in tone but the 22-year-old has no qualms admitting he felt a bit sore watching his pal revel in the first league title of his career.
Taylor achieved something similar in his first season at Parkhead but the SPFL’s decision to curtail the campaign in response to coronavirus
meant he was denied the chance to celebrate in unison with his colleagues.
In the circumstances, a Zoom call from his flat didn’t really cut it.
Crowned champions in the wake of Manchester City’s defeat to Chelsea on Thursday, Jurgen Klopp’s team engaged in a full-blown knees up that, while sending a dubious socialdistancing message, provided an unfiltered snapshot of happiness.
‘Seeing them have that moment together, it did make me feel a bit jealous, 100 per cent,’ said Taylor. ‘We have still not actually been able to do that. We had the odd Zoom call, a wee FaceTime with a few of the guys.
‘But the focus is now all on next season. We might miss out on that altogether, which is a bit of a downer.
‘We were delighted to get nine in a row and it’s a massive achievement for the club but it would have been nice to celebrate it in front of the supporters or just have that moment as a team.’
A full 13 points clear when the vote was taken to settle the league on a points-per-game basis, few could question that Celtic were bound to win the league by a handsome margin.
Yet being denied the chance to complete the campaign on the field of play has taken something away from the achievement.
In time, the club may concoct a trophy presentation but with flag day likely to take place in front of an empty Celtic Park, the backdrop won’t be there for the usual group shots or lap of honour.
While the medals are still being minted, Taylor has at least clamped his hands on the main prize, albeit in controlled circumstances.
‘It is my first major trophy and I don’t want to downplay how proud that’s made me and my family,’ he continued.
‘I did get a moment with the league trophy, a chance to hold it and have my photo taken, so that was good. To at least have that memento is good, something to put away.’
With the SFA keen to play out last season’s Scottish Cup as soon as fans are able to attend Hampden there could be another medal for Taylor in the coming months.
Aberdeen await in the semi-final and Taylor won’t lack motivation after feeling like a tired wheel as the club scraped a win over Rangers on its last visit to the national stadium.
‘I was on the pitch at the end of the League Cup final but I was cup-tied so those celebrations weren’t quite the same for me,’ admitted Taylor, who had played for Kilmarnock in the earlier rounds before being transferred on deadline day. ‘As much as I was delighted for the boys, I hadn’t played a minute for the team in that competition so I wasn’t really part of it.
‘I’d really like to get the chance to lift a trophy in front of the fans, one I can claim for myself.’
While Robertson’s success has been pleasing, the Premier League restart has effectively thrown another obstacle in Taylor’s path as he attempts to build an international career.
A year ago this month, he won his first cap in Belgium, after Robertson pulled out injured. And yet it’s not only Taylor’s luck to be behind arguably the best leftback in the world for a Scotland jersey but also the most expensive Scottish player of all time. Kieran Tierney’s £25million move to Arsenal may have freed up the space for Taylor to move to Parkhead last year but the defender’s re-emergence for the London club has left Steve Clarke stacked with options in one corner of his squad. ‘I’ve been lucky enough to play three times for my country and I have loved every minute of it,’ said Taylor. ‘The gaffer knows what I can do from Killie, he knows he can rely on me if called upon. ‘Robbo’s been very good with me in the squads but I don’t think I’ve ever actually met KT as such.
‘Every Scotland squad I’ve been in I think he has been injured. And obviously I only signed for Celtic after he’d joined Arsenal.
‘It’s strange that we’ve never had any dealings with each other. But he’s a top player and he’s going to be in these squads going forward. Hopefully he’s over his injuries and can go and kick on with
Arsenal. I’ve no doubt he will.
‘Whether that means there’s no place for me, I don’t know. But I hope the gaffer can accommodate all three of us, maybe with one of us playing in a different position.’
Taylor hopes to be in the mix for Scotland’s delayed Euro 2020 play-off against Israel but before then he wants to rubber-stamp his status as a first choice at club level.
His debut season at Celtic involved a lot of waiting around, the tone set by the protracted transfer saga that saw his £2m transfer from Kilmarnock drag on.
When he finally checked in, he found himself at the back of the queue for the left-back spot in Neil Lennon’s side behind Boli Bolingoli and Jonny Hayes.
Taylor was set a challenge. Proven
It would have been nice to celebrate nine in a row in front of our fans
SCOTS RETURN SACROSANCT TO GORDON AS HE CONFIRMS HEARTS TALKS See Page 151 John Kennedy has coached me into being a better player. Every day at Celtic is a learning day
as a solid
Premiership defender during his education at Rugby Park, he was invited to prove he had the capacity to raise his attacking game.
He came to the fore after the winter break as Lennon settled on a 3-5-2 shape, the most eye-catching aspect of which saw Leigh Griffiths and Odsonne Edouard pair up in attack.
The emergence of Taylor was also quietly impressive.
He credits assistant boss John Kennedy with helping him adapt to the new role, one that carried responsibilities at both ends of the park.
‘As wing-back, there was even more onus on me to get forward and probably hold the whole left side myself,’ he said. ‘It was tougher, something I really had to work on and I’m still trying to work on.
‘I think I racked four or five assists which was good. Hopefully I can get a few more in the new season.
‘I have improved on that attacking aspect and just being at Celtic every day you are constantly learning. Training with better players rubs off, and I love going in. Every day is a learning day.
‘The main thing I’ve learned is judging when to push forward and attack. That’s a process I have worked on with Kendo (Kennedy) a lot.
‘He has definitely coached me into being a better player, both on the ball and in terms of playing inside more.
‘I was used to having a winger in front of me at Kilmarnock, so it was more about feeding the ball and keeping that rigid four at the back. If I went forward, it was in a supporting role.
‘Now the onus is on me to attack, hold wide and play into the two strikers.
‘I was enjoying that. It’s all about timing. I was used to backing up the play at Killie, now I need to be the one bombing and hitting the byeline at times.’
Taylor has little difficulty covering the ground. His natural running ability saw him pip Ryan Christie during a lockdown challenge which saw the squad members pit their wits against each other over a 5km distance.
‘Aye, that was good fun,’ he laughed. ‘Me, Ryan and Moritz (Bauer) were the top three.
‘We were all sub-17 minutes, which was not bad. But I’m happy to have left that in the bank! ‘Running has been very important for a lot of people during lockdown and for us players it was good just for the mental aspect, our sanity, just to get out.
‘We’re all happy to be back in for what I would describe as our new normal. We are having our temperature taken every day and we are being tested two or three times a week.
‘The social distancing within training has been strange but it’s just been nice to see the lads in these small groups.
‘I have also enjoyed getting a touch of the ball. I was gutted when the season ended. I had been playing and we were in such a good vein of form.
‘But the first month of lockdown was nice. We had an opportunity to switch off mentally while keeping on top of our fitness. I was trying to go out for a run in the morning then work on the weights in the afternoon to try and build a bit of strength.
‘You don’t normally get the chance to do that without also having to deal with the pressure of putting on a performance and getting a result.
‘So that was nice for a while but, after a month, I was itching to get back and feel that pressure again. I wanted to be out playing football.’