Clayton Taylor on Daniel Stendel's Barnsley FC: 'Everyone's fighting because everyone thinks they can get their foot in the door on the weekend'

At 23 years-old, Taylor felt it was time to leave the A-League into English football and even just from training with his new team-mates, he has seen a difference.

"I watched a little bit of English football as a kid," he says, "it's quite difficult over there in Australia because of the time difference but I tried to keep up, watch the highlights in the mornings and the goals and whatnot.

"But I feel like the English football leagues have a pretty high reputation around the globe and you don't really need to watch them too much to know a lot about them and the weight they carry.

"I've heard it's a lot more physical and a lot more demanding than the A-League. But I feel like I'm ready to handle that.

"I had a few options both locally in Australia and abroad, but I think Australia is very disconnected from the rest of the world in terms of football and it's a lot of Australians' dreams to express themselves on the world stage.

"At some point in your career, you've got to take that leap to get yourself out there.

"I've spent three years at Newcastle (Jets), which was kind of my first three years in professional football, away from home, it was sort of just a little baby step into the real life of football.

"I think that set me up pretty well, living away from home and also experiencing professional football, building a good foundation and base for myself to make this bigger move.

"I've heard lots that Barnsley is a very big club, usually a very strong Championship club, going through a little bit of a slump in League One and that they're looking to get out of it.

"And obviously there’s the gaffer's philosophy of being on the front foot, pressing hard, counter-pressing and taking control of the games, something that I think is very important that you're on the front foot."

That front-footed philosophy and a young group have made pre-season training hard work.

"The gaffer likes to have really long field sessions to drive up our fitness and make sure we're going to be able to press out the whole game and play this style of football the whole 90 minutes, which has certainly been a big shock to the body,” admits Taylor.

"It's certainly helpful having a lot of boys around my age and it certainly creates a good drive and competition and intensity in training to make sure everyone's fighting because everyone thinks they can get their foot in the door and fight for those spots on the weekend. It creates a real good environment."

Even days off have been full-on.

"Every week on our day off he (Stendel)'s out doing different activities to get to know each other better,” says Taylor. “It's very important for the group to be tight-knit considering how long you spend together and how many games you play together.

"They say you've got to believe in yourself to be successful. He (Stendel) certainly believes in himself and he's very passionate about that.

"He's trying to rub that off on us and create a very tight, passionate and energetic group that will go on to achieve something great."