Although last week's wretched weather might have clouded his view, former Walsall director of football Paul Taylor said he was "generally" impressed by the standard of local football.

Taylor returned to the UK last night after spending a week observing local talent, as well as playing golf with one of his former players at the club, Bermuda national coach Kyle Lightbourne.

"What I see is that the standard of play here is generally good and the fans are very supportive," Taylor observed.

"Kyle and I have been doing some things together and over the years we have developed a good friendship.

"I've watched all three(tour) games and seen quite a lot players. I've also had a look at the facilities here because there may be possibilities of me bringing teams here. Obviously I think the first match was the best where the weather was good and the playing surface (at the National Sports Centre) was good although probably a bit too fast.

"This was a young Santos team and it might have been good for the national team to have played in the last match so as to give Kyle another chance to see his team play.

"What happens in football is that you need to plan according to the team who you are going to be playing against. Sometimes you might do certain things against one team and then different things against another."

However, Taylor believed there was still much room for improvement in the local game.

"I think things can be even better and I would like to try and help," he continued. "I think we need to get into the younger players here very early and they need to go to play in other parts of the world, not just in England."

Taylor insisted Bermudian players should be exposed more to playing against high calibre teams along with the aid of top coaching.

"I think there's got to be a goal for younger players here," he continued. "We know what needs to happen here but it's easier said then done."

Taylor recalled how, with little financial resources, he painstakingly raised Walsall from the ashes and transformed the Midlands club in to one of the most respected in the UK.

"I could have taken them to the First Division quicker but I couldn't because I didn't have the money," he added. "And if you don't have the money then things take longer to materialise ? and you have to face the facts and just get on with it."

While Taylor said he was generally impressed by the skill levels of a few local players, he did concede it was disappointing not to have got the chance to have a look at Raymond Beach, the Premier Division's most in-form striker.

"It was a bit disappointing . . . because Kyle obviously talks to me about the players and this situation with drugs," said Taylor. "But drugs rob any player wanting to play professionally in England of absolutely any chance of making the grade."

Although Beach ? among three players who refused to take a third mandatory drug test for the national team last week ? hasn't been found guilty of committing any offence, players that fail to turn up for drugs tests face being banned from international and possibly domestic football for a year.

"You've got to be strong about it because if you want to go on and play in other countries you just can't do things of that sort (drugs) because the mentality to play in England is totally different," Taylor pointed out.

"I deal with lots of foreign players by trying to get them to play in England but a lot of them don't like it because of the English mentality of the game. They don't like the pressure and English coaches have very little patience because they are also under tremendous pressure to get results."

Before moving on to football administrative work, Taylor previously played for Sheffield Wednesday, York City and Colchester United as a right-footed midfielder.

He had been at the helm of Walsall for 15 years before relinquishing the top post in 2003.

During his term, Taylor recruited Lightbourne from Scarborough in 1993 where the Bermudian played a total of 180 matches and finished inside the club's top ten on the all-time scoring list with over 80 goals to his account.

"At that time we were developing as a club both on and off the pitch and then Kyle came along and we had both good days and bad days together," Taylor recalled with a smile.

"Kyle came onboard and when we signed him he actually played the first season on the left in a 4-4-2 formation ? and that's not easy for a striker just being introduced to the English game. But after looking at the whole situation we thought it would be best for Kyle because he had the ability to play in that position (left wing) and cross balls from there."

Lightbourne replied: "When I arrived at Walsall things were never the same again for Paul . . . he certainly had his hands full with me."

Taylor, meanwhile, also played professionally in the US with North American Soccer side LA Skyhawks and also with the National Soccer League's Team Hawaii before finally taking up his very first managerial position in Columbus, Ohio.

The Englishman now heads up his own company, Professional Soccer Consultants (PSC), which boasts nearly 35 years of top level professional football experience ranging from playing, coaching and management in both England and the US.

Taylor's company also assists in player representation, club consultancy, football tours ? both for clubs and the general public ? tournaments and coaching workshops.

Over the years Taylor has shown interest in the likes of Stephen Astwood, John Barry Nusum, Lightbourne, Meshach Wade, David Bascome and more recently, Khano Smith.