The City legend made over 200 appearances for the Club between 1998 and 2003, finishing as top scorer in four of those seasons.
Taylor first revealed that his former team-mate was offering his wealth of experience to the team in January and has since brought him into his staff on a permanent basis with a primary focus on our working with our attacking players.
And it’s certainly had the desired effect, with Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw currently topping the WSL scoring charts and City putting six past West Ham in our most recent fixture.
For Taylor, Goater’s personality and wealth of experience have both been a major boost in our pursuit of the league title.
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Speaking ahead of Sunday’s clash with Reading, the boss said: “Firstly, Shaun is a great guy. He’s someone I loved playing with here, such a character, he’s fun to be around, knows the game and cares about people.
“He’s a guy who has been really good for me, not just with the attacking players which is his vocation and he’s been really helpful for them.
“But the girls love him, he’s open and engaging and quite calm. He’s very laid back and was like that as a player. He was super calm, laid back with a smile on his face most of the time.
“Most of the time we were laughing at him and his dress sense [laughs].
“He’s great, he’s incredibly humble, a real student of the game and is aware of his strengths and potential.
“Where he excels, I feel is with individuals, and I class myself as one of those.
“He’s been really helpful for me. We use him in a way where he comes from a calmer space, not directly on the touchline and comes down so messages aren’t lost.
“He has the ability to step away from the game, see it from a different view and share his thoughts. It’s been really helpful for us.”
City welcome Reading to the Academy Stadium on Sunday 30 April, with our 14:00 (UK) kick-off available to watch live on CITY+ and Recast.
The hosts currently sit just three points off the WSL summit ahead of the latest round of fixtures as we enter the final few weeks of the campaign approach.
Taylor’s side are no strangers to a high-stakes environment, taking the title race to the final day in 2020/21, and he’s called for his players to embrace that pressure once again, especially considering the team’s slow start to the campaign.
He said: “I think we should relish it. After the first two games, being in this position with four games to go is amazing.
“It’s credit to the players. I think there were good signs in first two games, we were just a little too open and a new group.
“We knew we weren’t as far away as probably what people were saying but if you don’t take points from your first two games in a 22-game season, I think it goes to show how well we’ve done since then to be in the position with four games left to do something.
“Full credit to the players, really admirable the way we’ve played and attacked games. We’ll continue to do that.”
