Perth Glory striker Adam Taggart says the team’s intentions for this weekend’s clash against his former club, the Newcastle Jets, are clear and simple, declaring there is no room for failure.
The 23-year old won the Golden Boot for his 16-goal haul while at the Hunter Valley and has fond memories of his time at the Jets, but come this weekend, Taggart said the pleasantries would stay off the pitch.
“I had such a good time there in terms of the last 12 months I had, so Newcastle has a special place in my heart, but at the same time I’m going to be as aggressive as normal and go out there looking to win.”
And he’ll be doing his bit to make sure Kenny Lowe sends him out straight from the blocks, even though he’s been coming off the bench in recent weeks, due to a minor calf injury.
“Of course I want to start; I want to start every game… It’s up to the boss, we’re against Newcastle at home, so I hope we’re really going to take it to them and give the home fans something to cheer about” he said.
“It’s a big game for us, we’ve come off a decent result (1-1 with Melbourne Victory), but a fairly average performance, so we’re all motivated and looking forward to sort of putting the performance right and we’re at home, so we’re always looking for three points.”
Taggart knows there’s competition for places and he’s not resting on his laurels.
“We’ve got a team of class players, so there’s always competition for spots, and that’s half the reason I came back to the club,” he said.
“I don’t want to be in a team where it’s just you’re guaranteed to play every week because it doesn’t push you and drive you to be a better player and a better person. I’m constantly looking forward to the challenge and yeah, it’s a good headache for the boss.”
Taggart said with two home games before Christmas, he’s confident the boys will rise to the occasion.
“We’ve got to step up as men and take responsibility for your own actions and our own performances, so I personally, and I know the other boys aren’t hiding away from the fact last week performance wise wasn’t good enough, but I think there’s so many positives to take that there’s so much room to move forward that we can just go in with a positive frame of mind and stay strong mentally”.
The match kicks-off at 7pm and it will be attended by former coach Bernd Stange who will take part in pre-match and post-match functions.
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