Greg Taylor

Anyone got his stats for goals and assists for his 5 years with us?

 

Greg Taylor is settling well into life in Thessaloniki. The Greek sun is beating down, training times have shifted to late in the day to cope with the heat, and his family have just joined him in a new home. The move to PAOK is a fresh chapter, but it comes on the back of a body of work at Celtic that compares well to anyone.

After six years, 216 appearances and 11 major honours at Celtic, the 27-year-old says it was “definitely the most enjoyable and successful period of my life.” And he means it. “I’ll be a fan forever watching on,” he tells The Celtic Way.

Over the past few years, there has been a movement of Scottish footballing exports who have departed their familiar surroundings in order to sample foreign lifestyles and cultures, as well as chase fresh playing opportunities further afield.

Most recently, Serie A examples come in the shape of Napoli’s newest icon Scott McTominay, as well as Bologna’s current captain Lewis Ferguson, not to mention Lennon Miller, who made the move to Udinese from Motherwell in recent weeks.

In the case of Taylor, he has forged his own foreign path, making the move from Celtic to PAOK last month, though his transfer’s significance had not yet dawned on him.




“I hadn’t really thought about it to be honest!” he said, when asked if Greece could become the new Italy, regarding a landing spot for Scottish talent abroad.

“There are some similarities (between Scotland and Greece). PAOK are a club that demands success, which is something that I am used to from playing at Celtic. We have lots of top internationals to train with, which is again, not something unfamiliar to me.

“The footballing similarities are there, though it is a completely different country, which is quite a bit away from Scotland.”

The left-back was ready for change after having his game pushed to new heights by his three managers at Celtic - Neil Lennon, Ange Postecoglou and, most recently, Brendan Rodgers.

Taylor remains thankful for what he learned in Glasgow working under the trio, stating, “They all had their own ways, but I am grateful to the three of them for different reasons.”

“Neil brought me to the club, gave me my first opportunity and believed in me as a really young player coming from another team in Scotland. I loved playing and working under him.

"In the case of Ange, he completely elevated my Celtic career. I had played a fair amount of games, and had done more than fine, in my opinion. However, he just brought in a way of playing that really suited my game and one that I really enjoyed being a part of.

“Lastly, Brendan was amazing, but for different reasons. He was similar to Ange in terms of his style of play, but the personal relationship he had with me was unbelievable. He was so open and welcoming, while taking a real interest in the stuff off the pitch as well as on it.

“All three managers were incredibly successful, and you can see why they have all had really good careers.”






Though he spent two years with each manager, Taylor underwent the biggest change to his playing style in 2021, following the appointment of Postecoglou from Yokohama F Marinos.

Taylor and other full-backs, such as Anthony Ralston, were now tasked with playing inverted. The Australian's tactics allowed Taylor to help overload the central areas as a key attacking threat.

The Scotland cap was well primed, harking back to his earlier days for inspiration with this challenging new role.

“It was so different,” he recalls. “However, I had been a midfielder when I was growing up as a youngster.

“Centre midfield was actually my position, so it was definitely something that played to a lot of my strengths, though the early days playing inverted was not all plain sailing, that’s for sure. The manager explained what he wanted from us, but it took a bit of getting used to.

“John Kennedy was a big help in evolving the inside full-back role at Celtic. He was really good at noticing when to use it and when not to. In the case of Tony Ralston, he is a guy who is just so open and willing to learn and contribute to the club, whether he is starting or not.

“I think a lot of our success was down to Tony at that part of the season. He was unbelievable.”

Despite those teething issues, both in the wide areas and elsewhere, Celtic would wrestle the title back from Rangers at the first attempt, banishing the blues of the previous campaign, which was played behind closed doors.

After a tough start to the season, the club would click into gear as they chased their rivals down at the top of the Scottish Premiership table.

February 2nd, 2022 then produced an occasion seared into the minds of every Celtic fan, as well as Taylor's.

Postecoglou’s side surged ahead of Rangers with a 3-0 win at Parkhead, thanks to a Reo Hatate double and Liel Abada’s first derby goal.

“I still tell everyone now that it was comfortably my favourite game so far in my career. It was an unbelievable night," he says. "The atmosphere was amazing, and so was the timing of the win!”

“When you think back on things, you can maybe dramatise it in your head, but it was amazing. That season in general was probably the first campaign where I was playing a main role within the team, and we weren’t expected to win back the league title or backed as much as we wanted to be to reclaim it.

“I don’t think anyone, from the turnaround that summer, fully believed that we could do it, apart from the team, the players and the management inside the building.

“Under Ange, we had such a strong team, and we all had our roles within it, which really suited us and brought us massive enjoyment, as well as massive success on the park."

Successful he was, as Postecoglou won five trophies in just two seasons at Celtic, before being headhunted by Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League, just days after securing a domestic treble at Hampden.

Though familiar to both the support and some of his teammates, the arrival of Rodgers signalled a new style and a new face for Taylor to work with.

Question marks began to arise with regard to what style the returning manager would play, given his insistence on the 4-2-3-1 formation, with two sitting midfielders and traditional full-backs, during his first tenure.

Much like with his predecessor, Rodgers experienced teething issues during the opening months of the 2023/24 campaign, despite posting largely positive results, particularly in the Premiership.

“If we were open and honest with ourselves, our levels hadn’t quite reached what we knew we had in us at that point,” Taylor admits.

“Of course, Brendan had been there before, but he was a new manager to a lot of the players, me included, while we were new players to him, also. We all had to figure each other out, but he was so calm. He’d been there, delivered success and knew what it took.

“He was the main reason and factor in terms of how we got through that blip. From about January onwards, we were pretty dominant and went on an incredible run, winning another double in the process."

Taylor continues, “Winning the league at Rugby Park that season was brilliant. It is a special place to me, Kilmarnock, in terms of them giving me my chance, and I'm incredibly grateful for the people there.

“Winning trophies is a feeling like no other, and one that I will tell my grandchildren about. Our performance was unbelievable, and we started the game so well that night."

Last season proved to be Taylor’s final one at Celtic. Not an entirely surprising scenario, given the defender was in the last year of his contract at the club, following his extension back in 2021.

Though renewed efforts were made by Celtic to extend his deal, an agreement could not be reached between the two parties, which resulted in the player’s departure to PAOK last month on a free transfer.

“I don’t think it affected my level of performance,” Taylor insists.

“You need to perform, because you’re going into the last year of your contract. From pre-season onwards that campaign, we were flying. We went to America, and I think if you ask any player, then they’ll say that was one of the most enjoyable pre-season trips that any of us had ever done.

“We played against top clubs, but we were strong and beat them, playing well in the process. It was a really good start to the season, but I just parked the contract stuff, because you don’t have another choice.

“You have to focus on the here and now, and that was what I tried to do.”

As Taylor’s contractual situation continued to make headlines, Kieran Tierney’s pre-contract agreement was announced in February, with the Celtic Academy graduate confirming his return this summer.

The new PAOK star will continue to cheer on both Tierney and his former teammates, “I will be watching the whole club, and not just Kieran.

“Celtic has been such a big part of my life and my career. I have managed to catch parts of the first couple of games, and they have started really well. I’ll be supporting them from afar.”

Though not necessarily a member of the Celtic support prior to his move to the club back in 2019, his position has changed, which he humorously declared in an exchange with former Rangers striker Kris Boyd on Instagram this summer.

“For sure,” Taylor responds when asked if he now considers himself a Celtic fan. “I lived and breathed it.

“I’d like to think anyone would have seen that, what it meant to me to play for Celtic. Every game, I left everything on the pitch.

"It meant so much to win, whether it was Kilmarnock away or Real Madrid at home in the Champions League. Every game meant the same to me, and I loved the honour of playing for Celtic.

“It’s an amazing club, with amazing people, and I’m really lucky to have played there for so long."

 

Love below from Taylor


A few months ago, when Rangers pundit Kris Boyd asked if he’d ever return to the club he supported as a boy, Taylor’s answer was instant: “Not a chance. World’s most successful team for me,” he said.

https://celtsarehere.com/greg-taylor-admits-he-leaves-celtic-with-switched-allegiances/