Taylor set for Blues exit

Defender likely to move to a Championship side

By Chris Burton   Last updated: 13th December 2007

martin taylor

Taylor: On loan at Norwich

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Martin Taylor's time at Birmingham looks over after Alex McLeish deemed him surplus to requirements.

The defender arrived at St Andrews from Blackburn in January 2004, and played a crucial role in the Blues' return to the Premier League last May.

With promotion achieved, then manager Steve Bruce rewarded Taylor with a three-year contract, but he has since fallen out of favour and has made only one appearance in the Carling Cup for Birmingham this season.

As a result of his lack of first-team opportunities Taylor has spent the last month on loan at Norwich, whilst QPR are reported to be in talks about the possibility of taking the player to Loftus Road.

Time to move on

New Birmingham boss McLeish has told Taylor that he does not feature in his plans, and hopes that his performances while out on loan will help secure him a move which will benefit both parties.

"I have spoken to Martin and he is down the pecking order. I have said that if the right club comes in for him, it will be time for him to move on," the former Scotland boss said.

"He has done well for Norwich and helped them climb off the bottom of the Championship with his performances.

"I think there are one or two clubs interested in Martin who is weighing them up. I believe QPR are in the hunt."

Johnson

One player who may be back in the Birmingham side in the near future however is Damien Johnson, who is in line for his first start of the season against Reading on Saturday.

The Northern Ireland international sustained a hamstring injury during pre-season, but he may make his return in place of Mehdi Nafti who will be serving a one-match ban after picking up five yellow cards.

McLeish said: "Damien will come back in our thoughts. He has trained really hard and has obtained a pretty good level of fitness. He's in the running for a starting slot.

"Damien has got good experience and is an all-action type of player. We need those types in the squad and, if called upon, he will not let anyone down."

Captaincy

If Johnson does return to the starting line-up, then McLeish will be forced to make a decision on whether to return the captaincy to him or whether to allow stand-in skipper Liam Ridgewell to retain the armband.

"The captaincy is not something I have thought about," McLeish admitted.

"We have got Liam doing it on the pitch and Jonty (Johnson) is the club captain.

"I don't know how it works in terms of protocol. I will have a think about it and talk to the lads in due course before Saturday."