Oldham have made a slow start to the campaign, with last Saturday's 1-1 draw against Port Vale leaving John Sheridan's men languishing just two places above the League One drop-zone. However, one young player who has been catching the eye is Chris Taylor and last weekend the youngster was handed the captain's armband in the absence of Sean Gregan and Andy Liddell. Understandably, the locally-born 20-year-old, who supported the Latics as a boy, was delighted with his promotion and he took the armband home after the game as a memento. Givemefootball's Mark Shail logged the thoughts of Taylor ahead of this weekend's league game against Bournemouth.
Q:CONGRATULATION ON BEING GIVEN THE CAPTAINCY, YOU MUST HAVE BEEN VERY PROUD?
A:I only found out when we had our team meeting before the game – the gaffer told us the team and said I was going to be captain. It was unexpected but really exciting and it was a great honour to lead everybody on to the pitch. I did feel a bit nervous and maybe I put an extra bit of pressure on myself but it was a proud moment.
Q:YOUR FAMILY MUST HAVE BEEN PARTICULARLY PROUD?
A:My mum was almost in tears and my dad was delighted, although at first he thought it was a wind-up. I had already texted my girlfriend with the news, but my mum and dad were really chuffed when they found out as well.
Q:ARE YOU HOPING TO RETAIN THE CAPTAINCY THIS WEEKEND?
A:It might have been a one-off, I don't know to be honest but it felt special to captain the team I've always supported. Obviously I'm still young, but it was nice to have the responsibility and I was hoping some of the lads might look up to me during the game. I tried to lead by example, not that you would have known because I didn't have the best of games.
Q:IT’S A SHAME YOU COULDN'T LEAD THE SIDE TO VICTORY?
A:Yes, the most important thing was for the team to pick up three points but unfortunately we didn't perform. That was frustrating because we did well in the previous five or six games and as a team we are desperate to move up the table. In our position, you can't afford these slip-ups, especially in a game you should be winning like Port Vale at home.
Q:IS IT A CASE OF LIFTING THE LEVEL OF PERFORMANCE ON A MORE REGULAR BASIS?
A:The performance on Saturday was totally different to the way we played in the previous games against Doncaster and Tranmere so consistency is something we need to find. We'd be within a few points of the top six if we'd won our game in hand – it's mad, but that's how this division is.
Q:WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS AHEAD OF THE BOURNEMOUTH GAME?
A:We'll go to Bournemouth confident of victory, but we felt the same against Port Vale and let ourselves down. We know there are enough good players here to be further up the league, so we've got to make that count. It's no good talking about it. We need to start finding some consistency and put some points on the board. I know how disappointed everyone is with our position and, believe me, the same goes for the players.
