VETERAN midfielder Matt Taylor has underlined the importance of Swindon Town’s supporters, adding appreciating fans’ support should be a given at any modern day football club.

Taylor met with Town’s supporters for the first time since the club’s 3-0 win against Accrington Stanley on the final day of last season at Cirencester Town last Wednesday night, ahead of the club’s opening pre-season fixture.

The former West Ham and Portsmouth man spent the majority of his time before kick-off mingling with fans on the touchline before completing 45 minutes in a predominantly defensive role on the left side of the pitch.

Interacting with loyal followers is something Town's 2017-18 player of the season believes should be done more across the Football League, despite admitting top players have become ‘detached’ from reality.

He said: “What you’ve got to be aware of at a club like Swindon – and any football club really – is that it is nothing without the fans.

“It’s different in the Premier League because they are so detached now.

“I think footballers are very much not normal people, if that makes sense.

“The gap in wealth, the gap in lifestyle – for a footballer to give five or 10 minutes of their time to the loyal fans should be a given.

“I don’t know how everybody else works but for me without the fans there’s nothing.”

Taylor also echoed the comments of Town boss Phil Brown regarding the fitness-based approach to pre-season thus far.

Brown expects to introduce more interlinking drills into his sessions at the club’s warm-weather training tour in Spain this week, as he runs the rule over his squad, which includes trialist Lloyd Sam.

“The work we’ve done building up to Cirencester was mainly fitness-based,'' said Brown, whose side host West Bromwich Albion at the County Ground on Saturday.

“It’s about becoming aware on the pitch again, Cirencester was the first time we had the opportunity to do that since the last game of last season.

“You can train as much as you want, but now we’re being closed down by an opposition with a level of intensity.

“It’s a worthwhile exercise.”