Taylor must fight for Bolton place

Chris Taylor

CHRIS Taylor has been challenged to nail down his place in the Bolton line-up.

The former Athletic winger, who made 285 appearances for the club after rising through the ranks, has had a hit-and-miss time of things so far since making his move to the Macron Stadium in the summer.

Taylor (29), who has had to miss the last two outings for Phil Parkinson's side due to a virus, is back in contention to line up against his old club on Saturday.

FRUSTRATING

But so far, the former Millwall and Blackburn winger's spell with Bolton has been a frustrating one.

Taylor, who is on a two-year contract, has made only five starts in his 10 appearances for the club to date.

Having played a big role in Millwall's journey to the play-off final last year, Parkinson is keen that Taylor can rediscover his best form.

"We had a good chat about it last week and it hasn't gone according to plan for him, but I'm confident it will do," Parkinson told The Bolton News.

"My aim, and his aim, is by the end of the season, people will look back and say, 'Yeah, he may have had a slow start but he came through it'.

"He's a very good player, I've got to get more out of him, he's got to get more out of himself.

"If you see him from his time at Millwall he's a hard-working, diligent wide player who can produce quality moments.

"What the supporters want sheer, honest, committed performances and if quality moments come off the back of that, great."

Taylor was in the Bolton side that started the season apace following their relegation from the Championship last season.

Parkinson's side won their first four league games before going on an eight-game winless run in all competitions - a sequence featuring four straight outings without a goal.

A 1-0 home win over Blackpool in the Checkatrade Trophy, courtesy of on-loan Newcastle winger Sammy Ameobi's early strike, got Bolton back on track and that result was followed up with a 1-0 win at Swindon thanks to an 86th-minute Brandon Ormonde-Ottewill own goal.