Striker speaks of his delight after extending his stay

Lyle Taylor has today committed his future to AFC Wimbledon by signing a new contract at the club.

The 26-year-old has been rewarded for his prolific form since joining Wimbledon in July 2015 with a total of 21 league goals last season, plus the vital opener at Wembley in May, as the Dons sealed promotion.

Speaking during an interview for Dons Player, Neal Ardley said: “We’ve finally got Lyle Taylor to put pen to paper on a new deal and we are obviously delighted. It is one we have been working on. It’s really difficult to attract good players to your club. We’ve put a lot of effort into him and a couple of months into last season we started reaping the rewards – the rest is history.

“We feel that we have a very good player and I don’t think there’s many good strikers out there at the moment. To sign Lyle and get him to extend his contract with us is a massive thing for a club like us. Lyle was ours for the season, but if we had got to January and he was doing well we may have lost all chance of keeping him at that point. Then you would get derisory offers because he is running down his contract. It was important that we invested in him and he has invested in the club. He can just focus on his football now.”

channel.You TubeLyle spoke of his delight shortly after signing an extended deal and a clip of his extensive Dons Player interview is now on our official

“It’s massive for me,” said Lyle. “From about March and April I had a lot of people asking if was signing a new contract or if I was going to leave. This has been in the pipeline for the last month or so and it has been agreed for probably the last two weeks. It has just been a case of getting in to sign it. Now that it is signed it finishes any more speculation on what is going to happen with me.

“It has been a difficult start to the season and the fans need to stick with us, but they will. They are the ones who dragged us up to this level with the help of the gaffer. The staff, players and fans have carried each other. A massive thank-you has to go to those founding members of this football club because without them the last 14 years or so would not have been possible. Without them I would not be sitting here having signed a new contract and we would not be in League One.

“It’s not the biggest club in the world, but it is a family club. You only had to be at the parade in Wimbledon to see what the club means to the fans or speak to them for 15 minutes to understand what this club is and where it has come from.

“The manager was the biggest thing for me signing and the biggest reason why I re-signed for this club. The fans are great, the boys are great, but the gaffer’s style of management, his philosophy, and his ethos is the reason for me signing this contract. It’s not been a great start, but we are working so hard to put it right. The gaffer is making sure it’s right so that we are in a good position on a Saturday or a Tuesday night.”

.Dons PlayerExtensive interviews with Lyle Taylor and Neal Ardley are now on