Newcastle United defender Ryan Taylor has claimed that he has had the best year of his career and has no intentions of leaving the North East club.

The 27-year-old was linked with a move away from the Sports Direct Arena a year ago following an inconsistent season, where first-team opportunities were few and far between.

"It's been a great 12 months in my career," Taylor told the Shields Gazette. "It's probably been the best 12 months I've had, on and off the field.

"My little boy's not far from being one year old now, so everything's going so well. I signed a new contract last season and played a lot of games. The last 12 months have probably been the best so far. It's been great."

The Liverpool-born player moved to Newcastle in 2009.