Taylor turns his attention to experience (From Bucks Free Press)

Taylor turns his attention to experience

2:50pm Friday 3rd July 2009 in

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WANDERERS boss Peter Taylor is stepping up his hunt for experienced players after snaring bright young prospects Lewis Montrose and Joe Cobb.

The duo have managed just 16 games between them, with Montrose making all of those, and Taylor will now concentrate all his efforts on adding experience to his squad.

He is delighted with the two youngsters he has got in but is still seething at the other key targets that got away while the club dithered over handing him a budget.

Cobb and Montrose were the two rookies he targeted at the start of the summer but his four experienced priorities have all got away.

He said: “I had six signings lined up and Cobb and Montrose were the only two that I was able to retrieve – the four others have all got away.”

Sam Saunders and Ben Strevens both joined fellow League One new-boys Brentford, while Norwich nipped in to sign Exeter midfielder Matt Gill ahead of Taylor who wasn’t in a position to make him a concrete offer because of the behind-the-scenes mayhem.

The fourth target that got away isn’t known.

Miffed Taylor is now starting his search again with just eight days to go before Blues’ first pre-season friendly away at AFC Wimbledon on Saturday week and he admitted he has got no deals lined up so far.

He said: “There is nothing in place yet. I was hoping that every-thing would be sorted by now but I have got a lot of work to do.”

Top of his agenda is landing an experienced centre back after losing skipper and kingpin Dave McCracken to League One and Bucks rivals MK Dons last week.

But, despite the shortage, Taylor has so far resisted the temptation to invite Frank Sinclair to re-join his troops for pre-season training which started on Wednesday.

The 37-year-old former Chelsea, Leicester and Jamaica World Cup defender was brought in at the end of last season to guide Taylor’s nervous youngsters past the finish line in the promotion race.

But although Taylor is unhappy about he is now starting his ‘experienced’ player hunt from the back of the grid, he’s delighted with the two youngsters he’s got in.

Chesterfield thought they had Montrose in the bag, after he starred on loan there last season, but Taylor gazumped them with his two-year deal for the player who was released by Wigan Athletic.

And Taylor is chuffed with his bit of business.

Former Chesterfield boss Lee Richardson gave him glowing reports while Taylor’s contacts at Wigan reckon he was very unlucky not to have been given the chance to build on his solitary appearance for the Premiership club.