‘Difficult’ - Taylor Moore makes Bristol City admission after ‘kick up back side’

Bristol City defender Taylor Moore has thanked Shrewsbury Town manager Steve Cotterill for 'kicking him up the backside' which was the kick he needed. Moore is on a season-long loan at the New Meadow and is out of contract with the Robins in the summer.

The 25-year-old joined Shrewsbury in early July but was not part of City's first-team plans when pre-season training resumed at the High Performance Centre. He admitted that as a result of his lack of future at City, that his fitness levels dropped as a result of clarity on his future.

Since making the move, Moore has found himself enjoying his latest loan spell away from Ashton Gate. He has been converted into a central midfielder and has played 21 games this season.

"I joined up with the team in Spain for pre-season, and the manager saw it early doors - that I was not as fit as I could be," he said to the Shropshire Star.

"It was mainly from a lack of game time and lack of game time in pre-season with Bristol City as I had one foot out the door already, and it is always difficult as a player to know where you stand and to keep on top of your fitness as well.

"A lot of it is down to me – I think I needed the kick up the backside from the manager that I got, and it is a lot of hard work concentrating on your weight and your running."

Moore spent last season on loan in the Scottish Premiership with Hearts but was not a consistent figure in the team. The Edinburgh club did not pursue him or City for a return and a move to Shropshire came instead.

Under the stewardship of Cotterill, he has played a consistent run of games and has been present in every match-day squad for Shrewsbury's League One, FA Cup and EFL Cup matches. The move to midfield has placed more demands on Moore given there is a need to be aware of your opponents around you as well as finding your teammates.

He said: "I feel at the beginning I probably struggled a bit more, but now I feel myself growing and having a bigger impact on games than I was at the beginning of the season.

"Over the past 18 months, it was probably where I struggled with match fitness. Being fit and being match fit are two completely different things.

"I think last season I was in and out of the team up in Scotland, we had quite a lot of time off over the summer as well."