CHASING TAYLS: A ComeOnBoro.com EXCLUSIVE 13-12-08

ComeOnBoro.com's Elle Brunton caught up with Boro's cheeky young defender Andrew Taylor to discuss the disappointment at Hull, his lack of a song and why he may make a 'miraculous recovery' to play against Arsenal.

Taylor is asked to continue to sign merchandise for the staff at the MFC shop.

Elle: "Can you do two things at once?"

AT: "Ha! Yes. Can you?"

Elle: "Of course. So it's obviously a big game coming up but you are classed as 'doubtful'?

AT: "I'm very doubtful, it's a knee injury."

Elle: "Picked up in training?"

AT: "No, George Boateng smashed me on Saturday!"

Elle: "It was nice to see him again then?!"

AT: "(laughs) Yeah it was nice to see him, well until he went in late and did me! (mutters something under his breath which sounds suspiciously like "the bastard").

"It is usually when you see your old team mates, you go in hard, it's just what we do. I did the same to Mozza against West Brom so I can't complain."

Elle: "If you were fit it would be your 100th game in a Boro shirt..."

AT: "Really? For Boro? (consults with Adam Johnson), yeah I guess it must be... maybe I can miraculously be fit then!"

Elle: "The Hull match was disappointing."

AT: "Obviously we want to win every game but the way we lost was disappointing.

"I'm not saying we deserved to win though, we deserved a nil nil the way the game was going but we got in front with ten minutes left so we should have won."

Elle: "One of my colleagues has worked out that if games were only eighty minutes long, Boro could be fourth now!"

AT: "Yeah that says it all, we should be winning, we need to learn from our mistakes.

"We hear about being a young and naive team, inexperienced, but we can't keep saying that, it is disappointing and we need to learn."

Elle: "It looked like a very soft penalty..."

AT: "He was two yards offside, the linesman and ref didn't see it. They got it wrong but everyone makes mistakes and we have just got to get on with it.

Elle: "What was Wheater's immediate reaction, or wasn't it printable?"

AT: (laughs shortly) "He was just disappointed. He was adamant that he didn't touch him. He was gutted really, to concede a penalty and get sent off. But we have moved on from that and he'll be back."

Elle: "He'll only miss the Arsenal match though."

AT: "That is the good thing - a one game ban because it was a professional foul and not violent conduct.

Elle: "We've established that you are probably not playing but what is the mood like amongst the players?"

AT: "I'm not ruling myself out of the game, these are the games you want to play in, against the best. We have a good record against the big teams - we beat them last season so who knows.

Elle: "And lastly, any music you want the fans to use as a song for you?"

AT: "Any song would be good because I haven't got one!"

Elle: "They aren't very original are they?"

AT: "No they're garbage! I'd like something catchy, Aliadiere's is good and George's was before he left."

First published on www.ComeOnBoro.com on 13/12/2008