MATTY Taylor has denied rumours that a rift with Karl Robinson led to his Oxford United exit in January.

Last month, United announced that Taylor would not be offered a new deal and that he would be free to leave the club in the summer.

The 33-year-old striker netted 64 times for his hometown club but struggled during the 2022/23 campaign, scoring six times prior to a loan switch to fellow Sky Bet League One side Port Vale late during deadline day in the January window.

Addressing his relationship with former U’s head coach Robinson, who was in charge when he joined Vale, Taylor said: “Karl was great for me, I scored 64 goals under him and made the play-offs twice, and nearly made them again.

“You have disagreements at different stages with not just the staff and manager, but the players – it’s just a competitive environment.

“Going from the side that I joined to last season, I think it was quite unrecognisable.

“The style of play was a lot different and I don’t think there were many chances being created, and ultimately that’s what I thrive on and what other strikers thrive on.

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“However it happened, we were in a rut and low on confidence, and we lost the Oxford United way of playing.

“I’m fine with the gaffer and speak to him many times on the phone and by text.

“There’s nothing there, I’ve seen bits about the reason why I left – a mental reason with a blow-up doll – but I can nip that in the bud, that’s not true.

“I knew Darrell [Clarke] and I’d played under Darrell before, I like him as a person and as a manager, and maybe it was me getting a bit of happiness back.”

Only eight players have scored more goals for United in the club’s history than Taylor, with his summer exit sending shockwaves throughout the fanbase.

“I didn’t know much about Liam [Manning] other than his good footballing side at MK Dons. I didn’t know what his type of player or striker would be,” said Taylor.

“He introduced himself a couple of weeks in and I spoke to him a little bit after the Port Vale game.

“Then we had the end of season meetings and I didn’t really know which way it was going to go if I’m honest.

“It was good to sit down and chat to him, it was 10 or 15 minutes, and he asked me how the season went so I explained I’d been playing in two struggling sides that hadn’t created loads of chances, but on the same front I’d still managed to get 10 goals.

“By my standards, it wasn’t a good season. I’m now probably more motivated than I have been in the last year or year and a half, to get really fit – maybe I wasn’t as fit going into this year.

“The decision Liam made, he obviously wanted to take the club in a different direction and I wasn’t going to be part of the journey.

“I would have seriously thought about staying, I love the club first and foremost, and when I did leave in January that was really difficult.

“I did shed a couple of tears that evening and it hit me when I went to check on my little boys and they went to sleep in their Oxford kits.”

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About the author

To sign up to Liam’s latest Oxford United newsletter for free, click here: https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/newsletters/

Formerly the politics reporter for the Oxford Mail, Liam now covers all things Oxford United.

Liam attends the U’s home and away, as well as covering other big sports stories across the county.

His Oxford United newsletter is released every Saturday morning at 6am.