26-05-2025
Drogheda United boss Kevin Doherty desperate to keep on loan star – but ace sounds less keen
KEVIN DOHERTY is hopeful of being able to keep Douglas James-Taylor at Drogheda United beyond next month.
But the striker admitted he is unsure of his future with his parent club Walsall, who are in the League Two play-off final against Wimbledon this afternoon.
2
The 23-year-old has impressed with the Louth outfit
2
The Drogheda United manager is very keen for him to stay put
James-Taylor has made a big impact after joining Drogheda — like Walsall, owned by the Trivela Group — on a year-long loan last summer.
He scored 13 goals — including one in their FAI Cup final triumph — and provided four assists in 20 appearances as the Boynesiders maintained their top-flight status in a play-off.
His impact this term has been curtailed by a quad injury with his winning penalty against Bohemians on Friday his first goal of 2025.
But boss Doherty is in no doubt about the forward's importance to his side.
Read more about Irish Football
He said: 'We'll be talking about it soon. He showed there how good he is. Dougie has been great now for a year for us."
'I'd be hopeful that he'd continue to be brilliant for us.'
James-Taylor seemed a little less certain about what the future holds, aware that what division the Saddlers are in next season could have an influence.
He said: 'My loan and contract finishes in July. Who knows what will happen between now and then? They've got some big stuff going on at the moment. I'm fully supportive of them. I'm sure they won't have decided much."
Most read in Football
'For them, you go up a league or you stay in the same league. Who knows, who knows?"
'All I've got to do is keep training hard, keep working hard, keep playing to the best of my ability and not really think about that."
Roy Keane smirks live on TV before responding to Ruben Amorim's claim that the 'good days are coming' for Man Utd
'I've not thought about anything to be honest. I'm signed to Walsall now. They're the same owners. It's a tricky one because it's the same conversation with the same people but with two different clubs."
'But what I would say is that I've loved my time here, I've loved every minute and I think you can see that on the pitch so who knows?'
The former Stoke City striker has clocked up 48 league appearances for Walsall, but only ten of them as a starter, and has relished more regular football here before injury struck.
He said: 'It was a weird one because I felt incredible. Going into that pre-season I felt the best I had ever felt coming off the back of consistently playing."
'And then getting that injury was frustrating but then the physios, people in England, Walsall, back home, everyone just came together and supported me in every single way."
'For example, I was getting regular check-ups which, mentally, was massive for me because it meant that I knew the little goals I could set myself along those 12 weeks to reach for, to push myself every day, even though I wasn't playing."
'It kept me focused. I'm just really thankful for everyone who got me into this position.'
GOING WELL
Their win over Bohs moved them into second place and they have already won as many games — seven — at the midway point than they did in all of last season.
James-Taylor said: 'We all know nothing is won at halfway, you don't get anything for being there at halfway, but where we've come from as a team since last season is really far."
'We know it keeps flipping because it's a competitive league and everywhere you go is going to be a tough game, whether that's the bottom of the league, the top of the league, you know you have to be at it."
"And I'd say just get Waterford done on Friday, regroup, a week off, but the standards have to go even higher and keep pushing on even more.'
The frontman was chuffed with how Drogheda ground out their win over Bohs.
James-Taylor said: 'Sometimes it can be easy to think, say, if we're not switching the ball loads of times before we go direct to goal that it's out of our hands but, with our defensive shape, sometimes we don't even need the ball, we can just show them into an area and create something that way."
'I think Friday was a show of complete teamwork, doing things for the man beside you when he can't do it and the next man comes out.'
