Source: Northern_Echo
Taylor is targeting a regular starting spot
HE might have scored in Newcastle's final three matches of the season, but Steven Taylor has an even bigger goal in mind as he prepares for his summer break.[LNB] Having made just 14 Premier League appearances in the last 12 months, the defender is determined to retain his place in the starting line-up at the start of next season.[LNB] With Sol Campbell certain to leave Tyneside when his short-term contract expires this summer, Alan Pardew is expected to sign at least one new defender before the transfer window closes at the end of August.[LNB] Mike Williamson will also be available again when pre-season training resumes in July, but after ending the campaign alongside Fabricio Coloccini, Taylor will not be relinquishing his starting spot without a fight.[LNB] It's a strange time to be finishing the season because I feel as though I've just really got my fitness back, said the centre-half. I haven't played anything like as many games as I would have liked, but the manager has been fantastic with me and, when I got my chance in the last three matches, I'd like to think I took it.[LNB] Who knows who might arrive in the summer, but having ended the season in the team, I'd like to think that shirt is mine at the moment.[LNB] I wanted to end on a high, and that's what I did. Hopefully, I've let people know that that's my spot, and I'm not about to let anyone take it off me. [LNB] The current campaign is Taylor's eighth as a professional, and thanks to two lengthy injury lay-offs and a contractual wrangle that saw him briefly placed on the transfer list in August, he will remember it as one of the most frustrating.[LNB] Things began badly when he dislocated his shoulder in a pre-season game at Carlisle, and while he returned to action in late November, a hamstring injury sustained in early January ensured another six weeks on the sidelines.[LNB] It's been a difficult season because injuries have kept me out of the side, said the 25-year-old, who signed a new five-year deal this spring. When I've been fit, I've generally been fairly happy with how I've been playing.[LNB] It was obviously a bit of a nightmare to get injured right at the start of pre-season, but my first game back was the home draw against Chelsea and I had a little run where I was just starting to feel comfortable again.[LNB] Unfortunately, I got another injury against West Ham, and that's what kept me out of another run of matches.[LNB] It was a setback at the time, and then when I came back, I always felt like I was playing catch up in terms of getting back to everyone else's level of fitness. When you've been out for a while, it's never easy to pick up the pace straight away.[LNB] Nevertheless, Taylor impressed in his final three outings against Birmingham, Chelsea and West Brom, scoring in all three matches as the Magpies eventually finished in 12th position.[LNB] When we were in Ireland as a team (last summer), we all agreed that the priority had to be avoiding relegation, he said. That was the minimum requirement and we achieved it.For our first season back in the Premier League, we have to accept that as a decent performance. We know how it difficult a league it is, and we can be proud that we weren't one of the five teams fighting for their lives on the final day. As we know here at Newcastle, that's not a nice position to be in.[LNB] Taylor will now depart for a post-season break, but team-mate Tim Krul has put his own holiday on hold having received a maiden call-up into the senior Holland squad.[LNB] Having previously represented his country at Under-21 level, Krul has been promoted to Bert van Marwijk's 23-man squad for next month's friendlies against Brazil and Uruguay.[LNB] With first-choice goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg unavailable because of injury, the 23-year-old is poised to make his international debut at the end of a season that has seen him make 20 Premier League starts.[LNB]
