Taylor: 'The legs can't go on much longer'

Taylor has clocked up 474 league games but now has only nine left until he calls time on his career in May.

"I'm going to be 39 in the summer and I can't see myself playing at 40," Taylor told BBC Sport.

"I'm still enjoying the game but I don't think that the old legs can go on much longer."

The long-legged midfielder, who spent the best part of a decade in the Premiership with Aston Villa, is approaching the end of his second season at Sixfields after helping Northampton win promotion from League Two last year.

Despite the advancing years, he has been a key figure for the Cobblers as their defensive midfield anchorman - and helped them to an important 3-1 win over Bournemouth on Saturday.

With the bottom six teams, including Bournemouth, all losing, the result lifted Northampton seven points clear of the drop zone, with nine games to go.

IAN TAYLOR FACTFILE Born: Birmingham, 4.6.1968 Position: Midfielder 1992-1994: Port Vale 1994: Sheffield Wednesday 1994-2003: Aston Villa 2003-2005: Derby County 2005-date: Northampton Town Total league & cup appearances: 575 League & cup goals: 103

"It was a massive three points for us," Taylor explained.

"The announcer kindly told everyone before kick-off that it was 'a massive game', and it proved to be that.

"The pitch here isn't the best at the minute but we ground out a great result. They got it back to 1-1 but we kept plugging away and got another two goals.

"It's an old football cliche to take each game as it comes but we just want to get up the table and get as high as we can.

"We've had a decent run of games and hopefully we can push on from here."

The Cobblers had an unusual start to the season, in which 15 of their first 16 points came away from home, while they had to wait until 28 October for a home win.

But Taylor feels boss Stuart Gray, who took over the hot-seat from John Gorman in early January, has done well to reverse that trend - leading to a run of five wins from seven home games since he took over.

"The new manager wanted to address that record and turn it around," explained Taylor.

"He has brought a few players in and made us a bit more solid at home and it's worked.

Taylor (right) enjoyed some happy times with Aston Villa

"We're well-organised and he pays a lot of attention to set-pieces but he also wants us to get the ball down and play like John did."

Taylor may be set on retirement in May - but expects he may not be the only summer departure from Sixfields.

"I know a lot of players are out of contract in the summer, so we might see a few people leaving," he said.

"It might be a case of rebuilding the team, I don't know, but that's down to the manager."

Taylor himself appears to have already planned out the first stage of his life after football, although he will not be far from the game - and could even be seen as a poacher-turned-gamekeeper in two different areas.

"I've been offered a place in a football agency to be an agent," he revealed.

"I've also been doing some work for Sky as well, commentating and as a pundit, so I'm going to carry on doing that.

"It should keep me busy!

BBC