TAUNTON Town Football Club currently sit in 19th place in the National League South table as the second half of the season is about to get underway.

The Peacocks have played 21 games, won seven of them, drawn eight and lost six in 2023 for a total of 29 league points.

The season started very well, with Taunton sitting atop the league table in September and in the top half up until early November.

Currently the top scorer in the league for Taunton is Ross Stearn with seven goals, while Dylan Morgan has scored five league goals.

However over recent weeks, form has dipped, and on goings off the pitch has seen a rift between the club and some of the players.

This has resulted in three major outgoings in terms of personnel including Lee Lucas, Jay Foulston and Dave Sims-Burgess (the latter being on loan officially).

On top of that, speculation persists that young attacking midfielder Dylan Morgan may be on his way out in the near future.

The player departures are down to a financial predicament the club finds itself in what with a large number of postponed fixtures and low crowd numbers have made it a struggle to bring in money.

Club chairman Kevin Sturmey has said: "The past couple of months have been very tough for the club and it is no secret that money has been extremely tight. 

"Short term cashflow issues affect many clubs and we are no different so there have been instances when finances have been very stretched which may have caused a short delay to some payments, but we can assure all supporters that this has now been rectified."

And speaking from a different perspective, head of football Rob Dray said: "It is really crucial that we close ranks at the moment and look after those players, because they are doing a remarkable job in the current circumstances."

Looking ahead to the rest of the season, the Peacocks are very much in a relegation battle.

Currently they are six points clear of the drop zone and they have four or five games in hand on the teams below them.

So, for now, Taunton have control of their own destiny in this division, however Sturmey is urging the town to get behind the team.

He said: "The club truly appreciates the support it receives from our loyal fan base but to consolidate in the National League South and to grow further we need the public of Taunton and the surrounding area to come and support in bigger numbers."