Peter Taylor says people probably think he’s mad for taking the Welling job.

Taylor has described the task of keeping the Wings in National League South as his biggest challenge.

They’re second-bottom with one from seven games, leaking 24 goals, and the new boss believes they have the smallest budget in the division.

Taylor, 68, has managed England, worked in the Premier League and won five Football League promotions during a glittering career.

But he’s not too proud to work in the second tier of non-league football and has thrown himself into the task of reviving struggling Welling’s fortunes.

“This is the biggest challenge but that’s how it goes,” said the former Leicester and Gills boss.

“Honestly, there’s probably people out there who think I’m mad.

“But there’s also people out there who say they’re only going to work at a certain level and if the phone doesn’t ring at that level, they don’t work.

“I don’t look at myself as a Premier League manager, a Championship manager or a League 1 or 2 manager, I just see myself as a manager.

“If that means a sensible chance for me to work, and I know Welling is a bit different but it is a chance, then I’d prefer to work than not work.

“I don’t worry about the level, I’ve worked at all levels and had all different experiences. I’m lucky.

“I’d prefer to be working than saying I’m a Championship manager and you haven’t got a job.

“From the sessions I’ve had with the players at Welling, I’ve made a good decision. I hope I feel that way after 30 matches!”

Former Tottenham winger Taylor had been out of work since leaving Dagenham in December 2019.

He was approached following Steve Lovell’s resignation, with Wings chairman Mark Goldberg inviting him along to the home game with Dartford.

The Wings conceded in the opening minute and lost 6-0 - but it didn’t put Taylor off.

“I saw the worst of Welling and the best of Dartford that day,” said Taylor, who’s feeling the benefits of a knee replacement.

“I’d been out of work for nearly two years and the phone didn’t ring with anything that suited me.

“I don’t particularly want to move house any more but I wanted to be able to get out and do something a couple of nights a week, so it really does suit me.

“Mark knows it, I know it, the players know it - we’ve got to do better.

“Dartford were much better that day - Steve King’s done a brilliant job there - but Welling were 1-0 down after 40 seconds and the players’ confidence was low because they’d just lost their manager.

“They’re not as bad as they were that day and they showed me that at Oxford, where they looked OK for 45 minutes, even though it finished 3-0.”

Taylor is keen to work with the players he’s got and, with little money to play with, it will be a case of drawing on contacts to strengthen the squad.

He said: “You get a buzz from improving players. If that’s not the coach’s job, then what is?

“I’ve explained to the players that I’m here to help them, to make them better and to try and get enough points to stay up. If they work as hard as I’m going to, then we’ve got a chance.

“It’s a challenge, I can assure you, and I’m not letting Mark down by saying this but it’s a very small budget, probably the smallest in the league.

“I can’t look at the team and say I’ve got loads of pennies to spend, it’s a case of lots of wheeling and dealing with friends and contacts I’ve made over the years to try and get loans in.

“I’ve probably always bragged about that over the years but it’s one of the positives of getting old, that you’ve got plenty of contacts.

“I honestly don’t know how many players we need until I see more of the ones we’ve got.

“The position we’re in is not good enough, they know that, and it’s up to them.

“The way we played at Oxford, we need less players than we did, because I thought they did OK.

“If we keep improving like that, we’ll be a little bit harder to play against.

“Against Dartford, we were a doddle to play against.”

At 68, Taylor is the elder statesman in National South management circles.

But his passion remains and football isn’t really all that different.

“I don’t think the game’s changed that much,” said Taylor, who won promotion with Gillingham, Brighton, Hull (twice) and Wycombe, as well as managing Crystal Palace and Bradford.

“There’s always been different systems going on and I’ve been around long enough to know them.

“When I started out at Dartford in 1986 we played a back five and teams are still doing that today.

“I’ve played different systems all my life, so I’m used to all that.

“You might have to be a little more careful what you say to people these days.

“The old-fashioned ways of pinning someone up against the wall in the dressing room have gone, not that I’m big enough to do that anyway!”

Welling make the long journey to sixth-placed Chippenham on Saturday.

Read more: The latest sports news in Kent