STEVE McCLAREN has described Steven Taylor as ‘Newcastle United’s John Terry’, and challenged the centre-half to earn a new contract between now and the end of the season.

Having made his first appearance since August in last weekend’s 1-0 win over West Brom, Taylor will remain in the starting line-up when Newcastle visit Chelsea for this evening’s televised game.

The 30-year-old has suffered a tortuous last two seasons battling against a succession of injuries, but has fought his way back to first-team contention and will continue to deputise for Chancel Mbemba, who remains sidelined after damaging his foot.

Today’s game will pit him against Terry, and while the pair might be poles apart in terms of their achievements within the game and international record, they share a number of similarities as they begin to wind towards the end of their respective careers.

Like Terry, Taylor is due to become a free agent at the end of the season, and just as Chelsea’s captain has come to embody the spirit and personality of the club he represents, so Taylor is a proud one-club man who has made more than 250 senior appearances for Newcastle since making his debut in 2004.

“I joke with him, but he is Mr Newcastle isn’t he,” said McClaren, who once called Taylor into an England squad during his time in charge of the national team. “He’s been here a lifetime, and this is all he knows.

“He loves this club and loves the area. As you saw last week, when he plays, he gives everything for the team. I think that’s just his attitude, and we need that.

“We need the kind of leadership he showed in terms of his performance. For his own career, and his own benefit, he just has to keep on playing like that now, and get in the team and stay there. That’s up to him.

“You still need that kind of identity in your team. We’re playing against a team in Chelsea who have John Terry who epitomises that as well. I know JT well and he’s a great player, a great servant for Chelsea. He is Mr Chelsea, so to leave and not be given a contract would be a big wrench for him wherever he goes.”

Whether Taylor is forced to leave Newcastle at the end of the season remains to be seen, but having been on the periphery of the first-team picture for the majority of the last two seasons, the centre-half at least finds himself with an unexpected opportunity to remind everyone of his talents.

The Magpies hierarchy agreed to issue Fabricio Coloccini with a contract extension even though he had turned 33, but that was a rare occurrence that reflected a fear that the Argentinian would be difficult to replace if he left amid interest from Crystal Palace.

In general, Mike Ashley and Lee Charnley are extremely reluctant to award contracts to players over the age of 30, but McClaren will be heavily involved in discussions over Taylor’s future and claims he could still be persuaded to back the defender’s cause if he impresses over the next three months.

“He has a chance to show what he can do now,” he said. “Everything’s dependent on performance, but that goes for a lot of players here who are out of contract at the end of the season. Everybody is playing for their individual futures.

“It’s too early to say what I’ll be recommending. He’s only had one game, and we have to see what happens. We want the injured players back so we have competition for places – that will help make sure players keep performing like that week in, week out.”

Taylor’s heart-on-the-sleeve approach might not be to everyone’s liking, but while the art of defending has moved on in the last few years, with players in the back four expected to be increasingly comfortable in possession, McClaren claims there will always be a place for a defender whose primary thought is to defend.

“The game is changing,” he said. “Ten years ago we used to be able to tackle, and that was Steven Taylor’s game. But some things don’t change.

“You still need to defend your box, made interceptions and kick the ball away – that’s still invaluable now, it’ll never go away. You still need things like that on the field, and being vocal and being a leader, driving other players on. Steven is what you might call ‘old school’ in terms of that. But that will never go out of date.”

Taylor’s performance at Stamford Bridge could go a long way towards determining his prospects for the remainder of the season, with Mbemba expected to be available for the trip to Stoke on March 2 which will mark the end of an 18-day break without a game.

Jack Colback is back in training and set to replace Rolando Aarons at left-back in the only anticipated change to the team that beat West Brom last weekend.

That would mean Cheick Tiote continuing at the heart of midfield in preference to Henri Saivet, and while the Ivory Coast international continues to attract interest from the Chinese Super League, McClaren is determined to hold on to him until the end of the season.

Tiote was set to join Shanghai Shenhua last month, only for an £8m deal to collapse when the Chinese club were unable to agree the personal details of the transfer.

“I hope he stays – I’m certainly recommending that,” said McClaren. “He showed his value, although I also thought he had been playing well before he left (to negotiate his deal with Shanghai). He came back and played well, even though he’d only had a few days training.”