Former Brentford striker Scott Taylor is back in town and determined to electrify Staines' promotion campaign, writes Jon Batham.
The 32-year-old returned to the club he first played for as a teenager last week, having left the ranks of professional football to train as a sparky in chairman Alan Boon's company.
Taylor,who also numbers Bolton, Millwall, Blackpool and Plymouth among his former clubs, netted on his second Staines debut on Saturday as they won 2-1 at Margate.
And following his first day on the job on Tuesday, he claims he now knows his earth from his live.
Staines will be hoping the only thing Taylor will be blowing holes in for the next few years is a Ryman League defence or two.
He said: "It was the right time for me to combine football and a trade, because I didn't want to be starting an apprentice-ship at 35 which I wouldn't finish until I'm 39. "But as a footballer you don't want to hang up your boots, and I've had 14 years training in the professional game, so I'm pretty fit. "Hopefully I can play for three or four years, and by the time I stop playing I'll have a trade behind me."
The striker had offers to stay in League football up north when he left MK Dons in January.
However,with a young family including son Alfie (10), and daughter Molly (6) settled in Addlestone, Taylor chose instead to stay down south, first with Grays and then Lewes, while also beginning his studies for a UEFA B coaching badge.
"I didn't want to be travelling around all over the place again away from my family," he said. "So I went to Grays to get fit again because I'd been injured, and then at Lewes I was part-time, which meant I could take time off to do the hours for my badge. "But I'd always said I'd finish my career here at Staines, and it's great to be back."
