Western Morning News (Saturday)
Familiarity breeds respect from Taylor
MATT Taylor admits he has plenty of memories of John Sheridan – good and bad – but he will be hoping to create a good one this afternoon when he takes his Exeter City side to relegation-threatened Oldham Athletic in League Two.
Taylor played just twice for Sheridan when he spent three months in charge of Newport County during the 2015/16 season, which turned out to be Taylor’s last in professional football. Now, with Taylor the boss at Exeter, Sheridan is back at Boundary Park and undertaking his sixth spell in charge of the Latics.
“He didn’t like me much because I couldn’t pass the ball!” Taylor joked in reference to Sheridan being known as a pass-master. “He was a football purist.
“He’s a good bloke, a Mancunian, a proper northerner, honest – almost too honest at times, for his own good – but wants his players to play football in the right manner and he has a huge amount of experience.
“If ever there was a good fit, it is probably Oldham and John Sheridan.”
Taylor has locked horns with Sheridan once before on the touchline – his first game in charge of the Grecians was a 3-1 win against Sheridan’s Carlisle United side on the opening day of the 2018/19 season. But despite knowing him and his management style well, he feels it will have no bearing on today’s clash.
“It was quite a long time ago and he has a different personnel to work with,” Taylor added. “As much as managers have philosophies and an ideology of how they want the game to be played, you just have to adapt to what you have got.
“He’s come into the job three quarters of the way through the season and, with no disrespect to the players, they are not the ones he’s chosen at the start of the season, or signed in the January transfer window.
“He might have worked with some of them in his previous spell as manager, but I think he would see what he’s got and then put that skill set to how they can perform.
“He has them organised, working hard and believing. He has some talent in attacking areas and he has the community and the club together, so I am full of admiration for the job he does and a lot of other managers in the Football League because I know how difficult it is.
“You only have to look at the last 24 hours (Stevenage sacking former Exeter boss Paul Tisdale after three wins in 21 games) to see how brutal and ruthless football is.”
For Taylor and City, there is no such danger and they are playing for promotion. Although they sit in fifth place right now, they are two points off second placed Northampton Town with two games in hand and eight adrift of long-term leaders Forest Green Rovers, with a game in hand over them as well.
“I watched Oldham ten days ago when they were at home to Carlisle” Taylor said. “After the Mansfield game, I was able to go and take in a game and watch them live, so I have an idea of the atmosphere and environment, the pitch and the opposition. And I played under John Sheridan, so I have an idea about the manager, but it’s down to the players and how they perform.
“We have to ensure that any performance is like an Exeter City performance which is full of heart and endeavour, will and work-rate to start with and fitness. Hopefully we can then add a bit of quality to those attributes.”