Taylor: 'We were delighted to finish fourth'

24 Jul 2022 By Andy Sykes

Part 4 - Matt Taylor (pictured with son Hayden) took over from Rob Pennington at CMB part way through last season. The 47-year-old steered them to an impressive fourth-placed finish. He joined CMB from Turton two seasons ago

How do you sum up last season?
“We were delighted to finish fourth. We had a very good run and we ended up in our highest ever position.

"Our home record was better than our away one (nine wins from 15 games) which is not usual for us so that’s a little added success too.”

Best side you faced and best player?
“Euxton even though we beat them twice! We beat them by the odd goal twice but they impressed me hugely.

"They played really good football. We played them in pre-season a few weeks ago and they beat us comfortably.

"I thought Jordan Lorde at Burscough was a stand-out. He was very good against us.”

Players in and out
“We’ve not signed anyone for the first team and we’re totally comfortable with that. There’s a few that will come into our thinking from the reserves.

“We’ve lost Will Archer, our captain, who has torn his ACL. I challenge anyone to show me a better player than him in the league. He’ll be a big loss.”

Aims for the season
“We’re looking to improve, which everyone does season by season. Be nice to challenge for something, including one of the cups.

"It will be hard to beat last year we did so well. Let’s see!”

Where next?

Round: 'We could have been in top three or four' Part 5 - Dave Round is another long-serving manager, now entering his 18th season in the dugout in Cumbria. His Vickerstown side had a scintillating start to last season but they dropped off after Christmas to finish 11th.

Doble: 'We did well against top sides but lost to those around us' Part 3 - Craig Doble, 38, is manager of Blackpool Wren Rovers. He is a former right back and is hoping to do his UEFA A licences in the future. Wrens finished 12th last season in the Premier Division.