Maik Taylor appointed Northern Ireland goalkeeping coach Maik Taylor has been appointed as Northern Ireland goalkeeping coach for the remainder of the present World Cup qualifying campaign. The 41-year-old takes over from Tommy Wright who stepped down in June after being named as St Johnstone manager. Taylor was capped 88 times by Northern Ireland and played for a number of top sides in a distinguished club career. "I always enjoyed playing for Northern Ireland and to be given this opportunity is fantastic," said Taylor. I am thrilled to become involved with the squad and to have the chance to work with the goalkeepers for the remaining five games of the qualifying campaign. I am actively looking to play for another season; however nothing has come about at the moment and getting the opportunity to become involved with the Northern Ireland squad is one I didn't want to miss out on. He began his senior playing career with Petersfield United before moving to Basingstoke Town and Farnborough Town. He also played for Barnet, Southampton, Fulham, Birmingham City, Leeds United and most recently Millwall. Taylor recently spent time in Belfast to undertake his Uefa B Licence and Uefa A Licence, Part 1. Northern Ireland manager Michael O'Neill described Taylor as "a truly excellent professional whose experience will be invaluable in ensuring that our goalkeepers are well prepared and in the right frame of mind." Maik has been a great servant for Northern Ireland and I know he has the drive and initiative to really make a big contribution to the squad. Northern Ireland play Russia and Portugal at home in their next two qualifiers and then complete their campaign with three away fixtures.