"The only name I have mentioned to the players is Jamie Carragher," says Taylor on the eve of Friday’s European Championship qualifying opener in Austria.

"Someone like Carragher has got the best out of his ability. When he started with the Under-21s, I don’t think anyone would have assumed he would become a regular member of the senior side."

There is another reason Carragher endeared himself to Taylor. In the pressurised atmosphere of international football, the manager likes to have extrovert players around who like a joke and ease the tension.

"It’s true Carragher was one of my favourites because he was noisy and helped create a lively club spirit,

"I think it’s a bonus to have a couple of lively characters around when you’ve got a young team playing in an important match away from home.

"This group has a couple in that mould. Nigel Reo-Coker is lovely and noisy and reminds me of Carragher in that respect. The captain Gary O’Neil is another who has his say and that creates a friendly atmosphere in the camp.

You need that because the players are going through something for the first time."

Any member of the Under-21s who wants to eventually progress to the seniors has another of Taylor’s old boys to use as an example.

"When I had Frank Lampard in the Under-21s, people talked about Michael Owen as a certainty to make it rather than him.

"But Frank pushed himself to the limit in every training session and in every match. People wouldn’t have guessed he would go on and be such a big star but it shows what can be done."

Taylor is dedicated to helping Hull City in League One but says the lure of international football also gives him a massive buzz.

"I probably come across as very calm in the build-up to games but by the time kick off arrives, I am as nervous and excited as everyone else.

"Italy have developed a habit of winning the European Under-21 championships and it is time we got a bit closer. The first aim has to be to qualify for the finals."

In his own playing days, Taylor was known as one of the dressing-room jokers, with his Norman Wisdom impression keeping team-mates amused.

"I’m a bit old for all that but I try to get the lads relaxed by being a friendly person.

"I’m lucky that some of the lads will know people who I have worked with and they will vouch that I am trying to help them and their careers.

"Frank Lampard will be able to tell the Chelsea lads like Glenn Johnson what I am like, Bobby Zamora who I worked with at Brighton will have told Reo-Coker about me."

Taylor has an abundance of good strikers in Darren Bent, Jon Stead, Carlton Cole and Dean Ashton.

But he points out that the key in international football is often getting the right service from midfield.

"You will see that the best international teams have good midfield players because you can’t afford to give the ball away at this level in bad areas.

"Midfield players have to learn their craft but occasionally you get a wise head on young shoulders, the lad Fabregas at Arsenal has been sensational for only 17.

"I think James Milner will turn out to be a terrific player. He can play in a number of positions but I’ve spoken to people who think he will be a very good central midfield player. And he was only born in 1986 so he’s very young as well. He excites me."

As Taylor prepares for his big match, he is grateful to wife Jenny for supporting his dual role with club and country.

"We have been married 31 years and she understood that when your country comes calling, it is something you want to do.

"People outside the game don’t understand the pressures that wives can be put under. Paul Scholes made his decision about England for his family and it is understandable.

"Jenny has always understood how important England is to me and I’m really looking forward to the start of the qualifying campaign now."