Chris Taylor is a lifelong Oldham Athletic fan and is no stranger to kissing the badge. After joining Oldham from local team Springhead when he was 16, he has gone from strength to strength.

A year after signing his first contract with the club, he was linked to Leeds United, prompting Oldham to improve his terms…

“I would have signed for longer if the club had let me,” he said in 2009. “As long as the club wanted me to stay, there was no way I was going to leave because I love it here. Everyone knows Oldham is where I want to be. I love playing for this football club and I want to help us into the Championship. I’ve supported Oldham all my life and it was always my ambition to stay. I live ten minutes away, and everyone has a smile on their face when I arrive in the morning, it’s a happy place to be.”

Last February, Taylor was named captain for the second time in his Oldham career in a 1-0 defeat against Carlisle.

“It was a special night and something I was very proud to do,” he said. “I take it seriously and it is something I dreamed of as a kid as a Latics fan. Nobody can take the fact that I was captain away from me.”

This January, now 25-years-old and still in League One, Taylor admitted there was a possibility he could leave.

“I feel that I’m definitely ready for the challenge of playing in the Championship and there were a few times last season when we thought that we had a chance of playing in it this year, but we didn’t kick on after January,” he said. “If we didn’t go close again this year then I don’t know what will happen, but I’m enjoying my football under the gaffer here at Oldham and as long as that continues then I’ll be happy.”

After scoring the winning goal in a 1-0 win over Bournemouth yesterday, Taylor kissed his club’s crest again. Aww.