Taylor doesn't blame Cowleys for Colchester exit

Lyle Taylor scored 13 goals in 42 games for Colchester in all competitions

Striker Lyle Taylor insists he has no hard feelings towards Colchester United managerial duo Danny and Nicky Cowley despite his hopes of staying with the club coming to nothing.

The 35-year-old has agreed terms with National League South Chelmsford City, a drop of two divisions for a player who was Colchester's top scorer last term, despite his season being ended in April by a calf injury.

Taylor told BBC Essex that he verbally accepted a new deal, including a pay cut, but claims the written contract which emerged did not match what he had agreed.

"I've known Dan and Nick for almost half my life. My relationship with them won't change because of this set of circumstances and this situation. I have the utmost respect and love for the pair of them," he said.

The full reasons for his departure have not been disclosed, but as the contract talks progressed, Taylor eventually felt he was not being respected.

"I wasn't trying to leave Colchester at any point, it was kind of forced upon me - it was almost like dominoes, one domino fell into the next and I kind of knew that I had to do the right thing for me," he added.

"The club offered me a contract in May, there was then a negotiation between myself and the manager and we came to an agreement around eight weeks ago.

"When the contract did materialise in physical form, there was a gaping hole in that contract. That's not down to the manager, that's not down to Nicky and it's obviously not down to me.

"I agreed to take a pay cut but it still wasn't enough and ended up being almost 40%. There comes a point where you have to say 'enough is enough'."

'So much love for Lyle' - Danny Cowley

Taylor joined Colchester last summer on a 12-month deal, reuniting him with the Cowleys, who he played under at Concord Rangers early in a career which took him to Bournemouth, Sheffield United, AFC Wimbledon, Nottingham Forest and several other EFL teams.

Speaking about his departure last week, Danny Cowley said: "We have so much love for Lyle, he was a really important person in our group and a really important player in our team.

"I know Lyle will be really frustrated with circumstances, we are too - but it's genuinely nobody's fault, he picked up an injury at the worst possible time as he was coming out of contract.

"Football is an honest game, if you're honest with it, it will pay you back and on this occasion it hasn't, because Lyle, so many times last year he went above and beyond, he took on such a load when we needed him to, he kept putting the team first."

Taylor said he could have stayed in the EFL with another club or opted to play abroad, but the determined approach from Chelmsford had been "a bit of a whirlwind".

"There's a lot of work to be done, (they have) a really good owner, they're wanting to go in the right direction and that's what I want to be part of," he said.

"It's a place I can see moving towards a goal and that is a really important thing - you know what you're striving for, you know what you're working towards. It's going to be a really interesting project."

His first goal is to regain full fitness so he can resume his playing career.

"I just need to finish the end stage of my rehab and I'll be back out on the pitch playing matches with the boys," he added.

"I'm excited and looking forward to what this could potentially be in the future."

Colchester have drawn both their League Two games at the start of the new campaign, while Chelmsford began with a 1-0 home win over Horsham.