Jack Taylor made his international debut for the Republic of Ireland last weekend. Alex Jones spoke to the Ipswich Town midfielder ahead of tomorrow's home clash with Everton.
As he prepared to sign for Ipswich Town in the summer of 2023, Jack Taylor sat down with manager Kieran McKenna to discuss his ambitions for his career.
Among them, he wanted to play in the Premier League and feature for the Republic of Ireland at senior level. He’s achieved both of those things in the last few weeks.
“It’s all coming true, isn’t it?” he chuckled. “I should have those chats more often.
“You’ve got to have aspirations, you can’t be happy with where you’re at. It’s happened quicker than everyone expected, but it shows the job that everyone in the building has done.
“Long may it continue.”
Taylor earned his first cap for the Boys in Green last weekend, coming off the bench just before the hour-mark as they took on Greece in the Nations League. The match ended in a 2-0 defeat for his side, and he was frustrated that he wasn’t able to score from either of the two chances he had.
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Nonetheless, it was clearly an unforgettable moment for him on a personal level, achieving one of his big goals.
“It’s an incredibly proud moment for me and my family to finally get it ticked off,” he said. “I thought I did really well when I came on.
“I’m just delighted that I’ve finally put on the jersey and made my debut.”
When talking to Taylor, you wouldn’t guess that he has Irish heritage. Born in Hammersmith, he qualified to represent the country through his mother’s side of the family, who come from Longford in Ireland.
“We used to travel there quite a lot – most years,” he recalled. “We’d go over and see the family.
“It’s nice to represent that side of the family and I hope I’ll get many more appearances.”
Aside from the pride of representing Ireland at international level, Taylor also highlighted the experience of playing at the Karaiskakis Stadium in Piraeus, which is often home to one of the most intense atmospheres in Europe when Olympiacos play there.
Getting the opportunity to face Greece in front of more than 30,000 supporters was certainly something that he won’t forget, especially given how intimidating the home fans were during the match.
“I’d probably say it was the most hostile stadium I’ve been involved in, to be honest,” Taylor admitted.
“It’s a bit different abroad. They make a weird booing noise when you get the ball, so that was interesting.
“It’s another experience that I’ve ticked off. I’ll take that with me for the rest of my career.”
When facing such a task, it’s helpful to do it with people that you know well. Luckily for Taylor, he’s part of Ipswich’s Irish contingent which has been labelled as ‘the Republic of Town’, consisting of him, Sammie Szmodics, Dara O’Shea and Chiedozie Ogbene. Goalkeeper coach Rene Gilmartin has also been involved in the set-up.
“I knew the lads before they came here and I came here,” he explained. “It’s nice to see familiar faces in and around the building.
“They’re all such good lads. It’s an easier way for them to embed themselves in the squad even more.”
Szmodics is somebody that he knows especially well. The two played together in League One at Peterborough United but ended up going separate ways in their career. They’ve since been reunited in Suffolk, which required some work from Taylor to help seal the deal.
“We’ve talked to each other throughout the summer because I knew he had interest from us,” the midfielder laughed. “He was desperate to come down.
“I was a bit of a middleman at times! It was alright.
“I know Szmods well. I knew he wouldn’t be a problem coming into this team. He’s another great addition that we’ve got. Someone with different qualities who can impact this league.”
So, Taylor is now a top-flight footballer and a senior international. What comes next?
“I want to make myself an established Premier League football player,” he revealed. “I still haven’t started a game yet, so hopefully that comes soon enough.
“If I play well, I’ve got to fight for my shirt. There’s a lot of competition in the squad this year.
“It’s a really interesting time for me. I need to work as hard as I ever have because I’ve not been at this level before.
“Hopefully, once that start does come, I can stay in the team.”
Taylor may have to be patient. He was playing in League One just 18 months ago and now finds himself in the Premier League, which is a significant step-up for any player.
“It’s obviously much different, especially the different places that you’re going away from home,” he argued.
“I’m in a squad that has Premier League aspirations. The way we train, it’s such a high level. Every day, you’ve got to be at it.
“It makes it easier if you train like that, the games will be easier, but it’s a massive step up.
“You can’t slip off in the Premier League because you’ll get punished as we’ve seen, especially against West Ham last time.
“I’ve found it okay. Hopefully I’ll get more of an opportunity to prove myself at the level.”
Taylor also has to face extra competition. Last season, he was trying to start ahead of Sam Morsy and Massimo Luongo, while Lewis Travis signed on loan halfway through the season. This year, Kalvin Phillips and Jens Cajuste have also come in.
“You want competition to make the squad healthy and to help everyone compete at the highest level,” he said.
“It keeps everyone on their toes, but we’re all good lads and we all understand what it’s going to be like.
“Coming up, I knew we were going to invest in some new players. I knew it was coming, but that if I focused on myself, that was all I could do.
“Just work as hard as you can and the rewards will follow.”
Phillips is arguably the biggest name in the squad. A midfielder with a lot of top-end experience, having lifted the Premier League and Champions League at Manchester City. He’s also an England international who played a starring role for the Three Lions as they reached the Euro 2020 final.
Given his pedigree, some onlookers would’ve expected him to arrive at the club with an inflated ego – something which would clash with the rest of the squad. However, Taylor has said that it couldn’t be further from the reality of how he is on a day-to-day basis.
“First and foremost, he’s a really good lad,” the 26-year-old said. “He’s not this big star that everyone might’ve perceived him as. He’s such a good lad.
“He’s such a professional as well. He shows everyone his levels, how hard he trains, how well he recovers before games and stuff.
“It’s a delight to have him here and I think he’s embedded himself in the squad really well.”
That’s probably the big difference between internal and external perceptions, and the same can be said when discussing the season so far.
Many outsiders are concerned by the fact that Ipswich are yet to pick up a win in the Premier League this season, while those in and around the club are more than happy with how they’ve handled the step-up so far. Taylor is clearly in the second camp.
“We’re more focused on the performances over anything,” he claimed. “If you perform well, nine times out of 10, the result will follow.
“It’ll be nice to get that first win, so hopefully it does come against Everton.
“We’ll kick on and hopefully pick up some momentum from that first win.”
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