Jake Taylor said he can’t wait to get going at Sutton United, having returned to an area where already has a familiar connection with.
Having signed on the eve of yesterday’s clash with former club Eastleigh, Taylor got to see some familiar faces on his first day as a Sutton player with the Spitfires coming to town, though the 33-year old was the first time since 2023 not registered as a Eastleigh player.
After being taken on a tour of his new home, Taylor completed his media duties before sitting down with Sutton United FCtv to discuss his journey so far, including how keen he is to reunite with Chris Agutter.
“I’m delighted. Obviously came about a couple weeks ago that I knew there was a little bit of interested and having spoke to the manager and worked with him previously, it was something that I was really interested in in finding out more about.”
“Now I’m here I’m really excited to get going.”
A product of the Reading academy, Taylor spent an extensive chunk of his early career with the Royals, having hailed from Ascot, Berkshire, just 16 miles away from the Madejski Stadium, and he went on to train with a club who at the time were regulars in the Championship, as well as spending a brief period in the Premier League.
“I think Reading helped me carve a career in football” he said.
“I was there from eight all the way through which was brilliant, being around some really top professionals, seeing how they work, trying to pick up as much as I can and take that into the rest of my career.”
“It was invaluable experience and something I always look back on fondly.”
A midfielder by trade, the 33-year old has developed a reputation for being a leader, having taken on the captaincies at Eastleigh and more notably Exeter City, where he was praised by former manager Matt Taylor for his qualities, as well as being considered a popular leader amongst his teammates in Devon.
Furthermore, Taylor displayed the kind of person he is by taking part in numerous community initiatives during his time as a Grecian, and as such saw him develop a strong connection with the club’s fanbase.
“I’m a midfielder, try and be as consistent as I can, help out others around me, try and be as all-action as possible and try and chip in with as much as I can.”
“Having the role as captain – its instilled into you to be a leader and try and help everyone around you; not just the youngsters but try and get the best out of everyone around the club.”
“It’s a real community that if you can get the best out of everyone the football club goes in the right direction, and I’ll try and add in as much as I can here and hopefully we can be really successful.”
By extension, Agutter has previously touched on how keen he is to have an experienced leader in the centre of the park, notably while discussing Alex Woodyard’s recovery, but is therefore no shock to see Taylor come in as his third recruit since taking over.
“I think there’s some really talented young players here.”
“I’ll try to use my experience as much as possible, I know there’s a few good leaders here already so it’s important that I can come in and help those younger players, be as good as they can and go to have good careers as well.”
“It’s definitely something that is an important role I think for myself, being a little bit older to try and gave a positive influence on the young boys and help them as much as I can.”
Discussing some of his prior experiences, Taylor notably gained promotion with Stevenage, avenging his three failed promotion attempts with Exeter, before dropping into non-league with Eastleigh two years ago.
“It was amazing, a really, really good team.”
“Good togetherness helped us through, and are some really good times and memories I look back on really fondly for sure. It was a really successful year for the club and now they’ve gone on to do really good in League One so it’s good to see them continue their progress.”
“I also had a really good time at Eastleigh.”
“There’s some really good people at that club who I’l keep in contact with a long time so I really enjoyed my time down there and I’ll wish them all the best moving forward. I’m sure they’ll have as successful season as well.
Looking ahead, Taylor touched on his aims for the rest of the campaign, with Sutton looking to rise back out of the bottom four and get some important wins on the board, while he also mentioned his close pre-existing connection to the area.
“My wife was brought up in this area, my mother-in-law lives down Gander Green Lane, so it’s an area I’m very familiar with, having grown up coming over here quite a lot, spending a lot of time over here, my partner has a lot of friends round here so it’s nice to be back in the area and see lots of familiar sights.”
“But firstly, I want to come in and try and help as many people as possible, play as many games as possible, try get some wins on the board and work out way up the table.”
“I’m really excited to be here, I’m looking forward to playing in front the fans and I’m looking forward to getting some wins and climbing up that table.”
Photo Credit: Paul Loughlin
