Bristol Rovers announced former Rotherham United boss Matt Taylor as their new manager on Friday, joining the Gas on a three-and-a-half-year deal.
The Pirates currently sit in 11th position in League One with Taylor taking the reins after Joey Barton was relieved of his duties back in October.
The 41-year-old began his playing career at Burscough, before working his way up the non-league pyramid. He then joined Exeter City, where he made over 150 appearances across a four-year period.
In 2018, he took his first steps into management with former club Exeter, replacing Paul Tisdale. His side missed out on the play-offs by just a solitary point that year. The 2021/22 season saw the Grecians finally achieve their dream and gained promotion to League One, with Taylor still in charge.
In October 2022 following a 2-2 draw against his current employers Bristol Rovers, Exeter announced that they’d permitted the former defender to speak to Rotherham United regarding their vacant managerial position. Fast forward a day and he was formally announced by the South Yorkshire club on a contract until 2026, with his trusted assistant Wayne Carlisle also joining him at the New York Stadium.
A poor start to the 2022/23 season ultimately cost Taylor is job and he departed the Championship outfit with them languishing in the bottom three.
That brings us nicely to the current day. Taylor will be hoping he can bring a brand of football to the Gas that the fans will love, although he will hope he can avoid doing as Wayne Rooney has done at Birmingham City. Let’s be honest here, he has tried to change too much at his new club and it isn’t working, at least currently.
That’s not to say the Blues won’t eventually buy into the former Manchester United and England striker’s philosophy. However, at present they are struggling down in 15th position in the Championship after picking up just one win in his eight games in charge.
Taylor will be hoping he can bring to the table the sort of free-flowing football he brought to Exeter City. The Grecians are completely different to the Millers, from players to finances, and the two clubs are run and operated very differently. He mentioned in his first press conference that a few of the pulls that brought him to the club were the vision that the board have for the future, the current plans for the stadium and the new training ground.
The ex-Charlton Athletic man also alluded to the fact he wants committed players who are willing to play for the badge and to be one of, if not the hardest working group in the league. He has described himself as “honest” and “straight”.
Rovers were hoping to debut their new man on Saturday in their away clash against Crewe Alexandra in the FA Cup, however that game has fallen victim to the weather. The game has been rescheduled for December 12th. The postponement means Taylor’s managerial debut will come at Crawley Town away in the EFL Trophy on Tuesday night.
