How Douglas James-Taylor 'vindicated' Walsall's belief in him at Drogheda United

It felt very much like last chance saloon territory for the 23-year-old, who was had his option year triggered by Walsall at the end of the previous campaign. 

And James-Taylor, who had scored just five times in 63 matches for Walsall, feels his goal-laden loan with the Drogs suggests that the faith shown in him by Mat Sadler was vindicated.

"That was really a strong sign of support from Mat, the staff and the owners that he believed in me," James-Taylor notes.

"I know from the outside that people were looking at my numbers and thinking I don't know why we're still sticking with this guy. 

"He obviously sees me every day in training, he knows what I'm like as a person and he could see something that meant I got this opportunity to go on loan to Drogheda and show what I've got. 

"Last season was an exhibition of what I can do when I'm consistently playing which has helped my cause but has also shown that his support in me was warranted."

James-Taylor had examples to aspire to, with former Walsall loan striker Freddie Draper enjoying a fruitful loan at Drogheda prior to his memorable short stint with the Saddlers last term. 

"I spoke to Freddie before I came here and he was extremely positive about this whole town, team, club and everything about it," he reveals.

"It made it a lot easier to move away from home after hearing his experience. We saw what he could do as a result of coming on loan but even before I joined Drogheda, I've always believed that I was good enough to start, play, score goals and be successful at Walsall. 

"But it was more a case of let's just prove it, let's get it down on paper." 

Settling into his new surroundings in Ireland was perhaps the biggest challenge, but he was given a warm welcome by one of his Walsall colleagues.

"I went over to where Oisin McEntee and his parents live in Ireland," the striker recalls. 

"They looked after me and bedded me in really nicely. We had a meal, we went over to his house and caught up, which was really nice." 

His maiden season at Drogheda ended in fairy tale fashion, as they preserved their top-flight status with a 3-1 win over Bray Wanderers in the relegation play-off. 

A week before, James-Taylor scored in the FAI Cup final in front of nearly 39,000 supporters at the Aviva Stadium and his debut season success has only increased his appetite for more.

"You felt like for a day at least that your dream were being realised," he remembers with a smile. 

"You're playing in front of thousands of fans, you're winning trophies, you're successful and as an individual I'm scoring goals. 

"You're feeling like all the hard work building up to it during the season was worth it. Then afterwards, you go again into that play-off game and then you just want more. 

"You feel like you want to do it all over again."