Aston Villa manager Dean Smith is expected to help turn the fortunes of the club around as they look to return to the English Premier League.
While going about that business, reviving the international career of defender Neil Taylor also rests on his shoulders.
The 29-year-old hasn’t featured for Wales in almost a year, with his last appearance coming during Chris Coleman’s final game in charge last November – a 1-1 draw against Panama.
Taylor is yet to play under current Wales manager Ryan Giggs, and that is largely down to his lack of regular playing time at club level.
The left-back started his fourth league game of the campaign during weekend’s 1-0 victory over former club Swansea, and would hope frequent playing time can put him back into national team contention.
“Fingers crossed in the long term I can get back in, but I’m just not thinking about it at the moment,” Taylor said concerning his chances of getting a recall, as reported by the BBC.
“Right now it’s playing club football and the rest should take care of itself.
“If you’re not playing enough football then you’re not going to be in [the squad].”
Smith’s kicked off his time in the Villa dugout with a win and would have been impressed by Taylor’s contributions at both ends of the pitch.
While Alan Hutton has featured mainly as the side’s first-choice left-back for the majority of the campaign, Taylor would hope he can get many chances under Smith to impress, as that could go a long way in determining if he will be adding to his 41 caps for Wales anytime soon.
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