Paul Lambert style will suit me to a tee, says Blackburn Rovers midfielder Chris Taylor

Taylor certainly did that when he stepped off the bench to replace the stricken Lawrence 33 minutes into last Saturday’s 2-1 triumph at Preston North End.

It was his clever give and go with Adam Henley and Ben Marshall, and then dashing dart into the box, which led to the penalty that Jordan Rhodes converted to double Rovers’ advantage.

After the match, and again in his pre-Owls press conference on Thursday, Lambert was quick to praise the industrious and likeable Taylor, admitting the midfielder could count himself unfortunate not have started the Deepdale derby.

It has been a similar story for Taylor throughout his Rovers career.

Since arriving at the club on a free transfer from Millwall in the summer of 2013 he has made 64 appearances for Rovers.

Not bad at all considering the fact that he spent seven months of the calendar year on the sidelines with a groin injury that ruled him out of the end of last season and the beginning of this.

Exactly half of those appearances, however, have come from the bench, and the 28-year-old knows, with Gary Bowyer out and Lambert in, he desperately needs a run in the side.

“I’ve not played consistently,” said Taylor, who signed a new one-year deal in the summer.

“I do feel like I have played a good number of games but not enough consistently on the bounce.

“I seem to have runs of a couple of games and then find myself out of the team so that’s my sole aim – to try and get in the team and stay there.

“And hopefully get results that will allow the team to climb the league, which is what we all want, and get closer to the play-offs.

“All the lads are out to impress the new manager. We all want to play and when a new manager comes in it’s a clean slate for everyone and you’ve got to show you’re worth.

“I was on the bench last Saturday and I was eager to come on, and unfortunately it was Tom who came off early, but I feel I gave a good account of myself when I was on there.”

Taylor initially took over the role vacated by Lawrence, behind lone striker Rhodes, before dropping deeper after Lambert made a tactical switch in an effort to stem the Preston tide that grew stronger after Rovers old boy Joe Garner halved the deficit.

“I really enjoy that role (behind the forward),” said Taylor.

“I feel like I can get on the ball and hurt teams, and create things for others, and defensively I feel if I drop back in, like the gaffer needed me to do, I can slot back into a three, no problem.

“If the gaffer gives me the nod I’d be more than happy to play there.”

That much may depend on whether Lambert thinks Lawrence is fit enough to feature today after a week in the treatment room.

But forward or back, Taylor believes he can fit into the high-tempo, high-intensity style that Lambert, the former Borussia Dortmund midfielder, wants to adopt at Rovers.

“One hundred per cent,” said Taylor, speaking at Blackburn Rovers Community Trust’s girls football festival at the Indoor Centre at Ewood Park on Thursday.

“I feel like that’s how I need to play and that’s how I want to play. I don’t want to play relaxed, I need to play on the front foot, I need to get about people, and when I get the ball, I want to hurt people and get at people.

“I feel it suits me down to a tee but it’s about doing it for him on a Saturday, and last Saturday went well.”

To implement Lambert’s ideas fully is going to take arduous hours on the training ground.

But Taylor said: “It’s very intense but I think it’s what’s needed.

“The lads are bang at it every day, he’s getting us how he wants us to play on the ball and what kind of shape he wants off the ball.

“He’s very much team orientated. It’s not so much about individuals. It’s about working very much together as a team. He believes it’s the right way to go to get results.

“It’s tough but I’ve heard no complaints about it not being enjoyable as well.

“And even though it’s tough, I don’t think the lads will mind because we want to get results and we want to climb the league.

“Under the previous manager we just didn’t get enough wins, and that was the only thing I’d say.

“That’s probably why the new manager is in now, to turn these draws into wins, and shoot us up the table.”

Rovers are currently eight points behind the play-off places but they could close the gap further by beating Sheffield Wednesday today and making it back-to-back victories for the first time this season.

“It’s been well documented among the lads for a few months now that we haven’t got back-to-back wins often enough,” said Taylor.

“Sheffield Wednesday will provide a really tough test. They’ve spent a lot of money, got good players, but on our home soil we fancy ourselves against anyone, and we’ll be on the front foot.

“We won’t be sitting back, waiting for them to come on to us, we’ll be getting after them.”