Callum Taylor making his Southend United debut against Coventry City – Credit: @Callum_Taylor02

Former Southend United goalkeeper Callum Taylor is looking to return to the game after leaving University.

Taylor made his debut for the Shrimpers in the 2019/20 campaign against Coventry City, after goalkeeper Mark Oxley had to be replaced following an injury.

Despite it being only being for a couple of minutes, he looks back on his debut with immense pride.

“It was an amazing experience,” said Taylor.

“After being at the club for nine years at that point, which became ten by the time I left, and to play through all of the age groups up to first-team level, was something I dreamed of and always strived towards.

To play against such a big side with 2,000 away fans behind me and 10,000 fans in the stadium was surreal and will always be one of the best moments in my life.”

The Basildon-born ‘keeper spent ten years in South-East Essex before departing at the beginning of 2021.

He admits he was gutted to leave his boyhood club.

“I was very disappointed”, states Taylor.

“I always put absolutely everything on the line for the club since I was a boy and I was fully dedicated every single day, on and off the pitch.

Unfortunately, I felt like some people within the club ultimately let me down.

There were a lot of great people that helped me a lot throughout my time there but in the last season or two, I think I was let down.

I felt like I was performing well in training and playing for the U23’s and U18’s for a number of years.

Ultimately, when the new staff came into the club in the 2020/2021 season, a lot changed and I wasn’t even given the opportunity to train with the goalkeepers and very rarely got minutes even at U23 level.

This became very tough mentally as well as physically to perform at my best and I decided to leave when I did as it was only going to get worse as the season went on.”

Even though Taylor had difficulties in the past, he is pleased that there are a number of excellent staff at the club today.

“The club lost a lot of great characters like Lee Harrison which I think led to a number of issues.

Thankfully, the club have some great staff now and you can see that being reflected on the pitch.

I worked with Kevin (Maher) previously when he was the U23 manager and he was a great coach and an even better person.”

Taylor looks back at the positives during his time at Roots Hall, even though he had a problematic ending.

“I always look back on my time at the club with fond memories.

I played hundreds of games at every single level and learnt so much as a player and even more as a human being.

I can’t call it anything else bar a success with the opportunities and experiences I had throughout the ten years, especially with being able to represent my country and make my professional debut in League One.

It is a huge shame how it ended but I believe everything happens for a reason in life.”

Taylor also made 41 appearances in the Northern Ireland youth teams, playing on 17 occasions for the U15’s, 22 appearances for the U16’s as well as 12 games for the U17’s side.

He states he was very grateful for the opportunities he received playing for Northern Ireland.

“I was so proud to play for Northern Ireland at several levels.

It made my Dad and my family so proud and that was the best part of it for me.”

He also looks back on the players he had the chance of coming up against.

“I got to play with and against some world-class talents such as Conor Bradley of Liverpool, Trai Hume who is excelling at Sunderland and most notably Jeremy Doku who might on the cusp of a dream move to the Premier League (currently being linked with a move to Manchester City).

These are experiences that not many get to do and I’ll be forever proud and grateful for these moments.”

Several Southend United goalkeepers in recent years have gone onto have a successful career elsewhere.

Dan Bentley is now at Wolverhampton Wanderers and Nathan Bishop made the move to Sunderland in the summer.

Taylor says he has had many goalkeeping inspirations over the years, particularly the ones he knew from his time with the Shrimpers.

“The first goalkeeper that made me fall in love with the game was Edwin van der Sar as a very young boy.

I then looked up to David De Gea and watched him grow into a man as I made my way up the age groups.

Within my close setting, Dan Bentley was a great model to learn off and I’m so happy to see him doing as well he is now and we still keep in touch.

As I wanted to become a full-time footballer, Nathan Bishop was the ideal pro to learn from and base my game off and it’s no surprise of where he has got to.”

Taylor admits he had opportunities to remain in football but opted not to, going on to study Sports Performance at the University of Bath.

“After I left Southend, I got numerous offers to continue playing full-time in the Football League, National league and Irish League.

However, due to the lack of security at this level they were all short-term deals which gave me no long-term term security which was an issue, considering I have no A-levels to fall back as I left school at 16 to play full-time.

I decided to take the brave step of going to study at the University of Bath where I am about to enter my final year of studying Sports Performance.”

Despite taking a break from the game, Taylor is eager to return upon finishing University.

“After I leave, I hope to return at a full-time or part-time level and I am ready to work my way up the leagues.

I have been playing up at University and staying sharp and I do goalkeeper coaching throughout the year also.”