BOB Taylor's been too long in the game and has too much respect for West Bromwich Albion Football Club to go banging on the manager's door demanding satisfaction.

His goals might have helped save Albion's Division One skins last season but that was then and this is now.

Taylor knows why he is not in Gary Megson's team and he knows he just has to grin and bear it.

"The gaffer has to play Hughesie (Lee Hughes) because he was the top scorer last season and he's bought Jason Roberts for £2 million so he couldn't justify not playing him," the ex-Wanderer says in his usual common-sense way.

"If the manager had gone off last season I'd have been the first in line but this is a new season. For the time being I've got to settle for second best but this sort of thing's happened to me before in my career and experience has taught me to bide my time.

"It happened to me at Bolton. I had spells when I couldn't get in the team but I got my chance and I scored goals. Things change. You never know what's round the corner ... that's why I'm biding my time and won't be knocking on anyone's door."

Taylor, who rejoined Albion in a £100,000 deal on transfer deadline day last season, scored five goals in eight appearances to help Albion avoid the drop by just one place. It was a hero's return for the man Baggies fans have idolised in the way their Wanderers' counterparts revere John McGinlay but he had to settle for a place on the subs' bench when Albion kicked off with a 1-0 defeat at Nottingham Forest.

"It went well for me when I came back to the club," Taylor agrees. "It was just like a fairy tale.

"The only trouble was that it was the end of the season for everyone else. For me it was like the season was just starting. I didn't want it to end. It was nice being part of a situation like that where we had a fight to stay up and won it.

"We'll have to see how we go this season. The manager has brought in a few new players - just like Sam has done at Bolton - and they'll take time to settle in but he certainly won't want any more games like last week's.

"We've got to get back to the form we showed in the last seven or eight games of last season. We weren't pretty at times but we stopped leaking goals.

"If we can do that and get some consistency we'll do okay."

Taylor scored one of the goals against his old Bolton mates in the 4-4 draw at The Hawthorns in April and would love to repeat the feat tomorrow.

But Super Bob is realistic enough to know that this time it will mean him being cast in the role of super sub.

Albion are expected to line-up: Jensen; Lyttle, Butler, Carbon, Clement; Quinn, McInnes, Sneekes, Van Blerk; Roberts, Hughes. Subs from Taylor, Oliver, James Chambers, Adam Chambers, Evans, Richards, Adamson.