Taylor reassures Toon fans

19 July 2009 19:31
Newcastle United defender Steven Taylor believes the club's off-field problems have brought the team closer together. With several Toon players admitting they have no idea where their futures lie after their pre-season fixture with Shamrock Rovers last weekend, many fans are becoming disillusioned by goings on at the club. Some players have also expressed their dissatisfaction over the club's inability to appoint a permanent boss as they await a potential takeover. However, Taylor has reassured fans that all is well within the player's squad following a week-long training camp in Dublin. "After the Shamrock Rovers game, they (the players) were asked these questions and people might think that's what the fans want to hear," said Taylor. "But it isn't, because they don't realise what it's like. Dublin was the best thing that's happened to Newcastle United this pre-season. It's the best thing we could have done. "We had to stick together. All these training sessions, I know they have been tight and close together, but we are not complaining. "We have got no moaning any more. In the Premier League, maybe for some players it was a bit easy-going, but it's been difficult, it's stricter and people are realising that. "The fans at this moment probably think the club is a shambles and the players haven't got a clue what is going on. They probably think we are fighting in training. "But with us, it is completely different and I just wish they could even spend one day just looking at the training ground and the way we are going on with each other. "It's a much better team-bonding." With less than three weeks to go before Newcastle kick off their Championship campaign against West Brom, the squad appear to be getting things together following their 7-2 thumping of Darlington, and Taylor vows the team are up for a scrap. "We are just thinking about one game at a time. We have got West Brom as our first game and we have just got to win that game," he said. "I don't care how ugly it gets, we need to get the result we need, and that's all we are going to look for." With many want-away players in the camp following their relegation, Taylor has reassured fans he will honour his contract and remain a Newcastle man as long as the club want him. "I have got two years on my contract and unless Newcastle sell me, I am still a Newcastle United player," he said.

Source: SKY_Sports