'He deserves it' - Taylor on Beckham knighthood

Peter Taylor managed England Under-21s from 1999 to 2001

On the day news broke David Beckham is set to be awarded a knighthood, the man who first gave him the England captain's armband says he "thoroughly deserves it".

Peter Taylor, now manager of Essex non-league outfit Canvey Island, only had one game as caretaker boss of the Three Lions in 2000.

But his influence was an enduring one because of his decision to name Beckham - who won 59 caps as captain and 115 in total - as skipper for that friendly against Italy.

And on the midfielder's expected inclusion in the King's Birthday Honours List, Taylor told BBC Essex: "I'm delighted for David.

"He thoroughly deserves it because he is always committed to things he does. He takes responsibility seriously. Good luck to him."

Ex-Leicester, Hull and Crystal Palace boss Taylor, however, currently has slightly less exalted matters on his mind.

After two years away from the dugout - in a coaching career that began at Dartford in 1986 and has taken him to places as far flung as India and New Zealand - the 72-year-old has returned to management at seventh-tier Canvey Island.

Taylor turned out for Canvey at the very start of a playing career that took him to Southend, Crystal Palace and Tottenham Hotspur and brought him four England caps as a fast-raiding winger - and he needed little persuading to return.

He added: "I've had a lovely career, definitely lots of ups and downs, highs and lows, but I still enjoy football.

"When, all of a sudden, I got a phone call from Canvey to say 'would you like to come and manage the team, are you interested?', I said yes mainly because I love being on the training pitch - that's why I agreed to come back."

Peter Taylor gives the England captain's armband to David Beckham

Taylor, though, is well aware he faces the prospect of having to build a new squad for next season almost from scratch.

"The priority was to find out who wanted to stay here - there were 18 players on the books and I phoned them all, found out who wants to stay, who doesn't," he added.

"I'm looking to bring in about 12, 13 players because the majority have not stayed. The ones that are leaving will be more experienced than the ones coming in - in that respect it's going to be a test."

Taylor had previously been scouting for Dagenham & Redbridge after his last management job at Maldon & Tiptree ended in the sack in 2023.

He was appointed last month, replacing Brad Wellman, who left after the Islanders finished 17th in Isthmian League Premier Division, having been in charge for four years.

"It's going to be a hard challenge because there's some bigger budgets and some bigger teams in the division this year but it's a test I'm looking forward to," Taylor added.

"My target is to create a really good changing room. If we enter that field and run around more than the opposition, that's the basics I'm looking for to start off with.

"It's difficult for me to judge where we're going to end up but the most important thing is to get the team as organised as we possibly can.

"I'll be looking at a new bunch of players at the end of June, when we start - we've got eight pre-season matches and we need those matches because this is (going to be) such a new bunch, we need them to get playing together."