With Carl Baker suffering an injury that ruled him out for the season, defending champions ATK were swift to replace him with fellow Englishman Ryan Taylor. The former Newcastle United player made an immediate impact in ATK’s first win of the Hero Indian Super League (ISL) 2017-18 campaign against Mumbai City FC. He proved to be an important figure in midfield, orchestrating attacks and delivering quality set-pieces. The 33-year-old spoke to indiansuperleague.com in an exclusive interview recently and shared his thoughts on his new venture.

The versatile Englishman is confident about ATK’s chances of successfully defending the title even though they haven’t had the best of starts to the season. “I have only been here for a week, but looking at the fixtures and how the season is going, you would probably say yes (we can defend the title),” he opined. “The first win helped us gain a lot of confidence and there is a difference in the players now. It just feels like a massive weight has been lifted off our shoulders and we can push on to get many more now.”

Taylor joined ATK in a difficult period when the club was struggling to pick up their first win of the season and were rooted at the bottom of the league. However, ATK’s set-piece specialist made it clear that he isn’t someone who feels or buckles under pressure. “I don’t feel any pressure,” he stated. “I came here with an open mind, and the knowledge of how big the football club is, and of all that it has done so far. I just came here to play football at a club that wins games and so far, it has worked out well. I am looking forward to the challenge. We have a few games at home now, which we can look at to get points on the board.”

Taylor also revealed that ATK’s top-scorer during the past two seasons and the league’s all-time leading scorer, Iain Hume, played a major role in his decision to join the reigning champions. “I actually heard about the Hero ISL because of a good friend of mine who everyone in India knows - Iain Hume,” Taylor said. “I have known him for over 14 years now. We have grown up together when I was playing in my first club. He had nothing but good words about the football club, the league, the football played here and the fans. He made up my mind, really. If he can leave his family at home, come here and enjoy himself, then I am sure I can do it too.”

When asked if he’s relishing the prospect of taking on Hume when ATK play Kerala Blasters FC later in the season, Taylor added: “We grew up and played a lot together and I am sure when I do come up against him, for those 90 minutes, he won’t be my friend, I can tell you that. Kerala are rivals because they are a good side, but I am sure I will catch up with him sometime later. However, when we play Kerala, we are not going to be friends for those 90 minutes.”

Taylor further added that ATK’s former Canadian hitman speaks glowingly about his time with the club. “He (Hume) speaks very highly of everybody at the football club, and a lot of people here behind the scenes who are still here now,” he said. “He could only speak in a great way about the club, the fans and the way the club is run. We have a big stadium, and the fans come and try to make it as loud as possible. I am sure that as we win more football games, we will only attract more people.”