A-League Men: Perth Glory star Adam Taggart has high expectations for the looming season

It should not be surprising Adam Taggart, a man who harbours World Cup aspirations, has lofty ambitions for both himself and his team every time he takes the pitch. Last season, for instance, Taggart was targeting more than finals football; instead, Perth Glory fell well short and ended up with the wooden spoon. With a re-tooled, new look squad, a first-time head coach taking the helm and new ownership now in control of the club, has Taggart lowered his gaze when it comes to setting goal in the wake of last season? Not in the slightest. “We need to be pushing for finals at the absolute minimum,” Taggart told The West Australian. “Last year, I had the intention to win the league. I don’t feel it’s right to play football without having a desire and belief that we’re going to win something.” Taggart is the face of the new-look Perth Glory after his herculean efforts last season, when he won the A-League golden boot after scoring 20 goals in 25 games for the league’s worst team and earn a Socceroos recall in the process. His efforts came against the backdrop of on-field disarray and off-field disruption, as long-term owner Tony Sage handed back his club licence and the search for new owners took more than six months before the Pelligra Group assumed control. With the club being run by the league for several months last season, the ownership saga evidently affected players and Taggart said its resolution boded well for the Glory. “It’s good to recognise last year was extremely difficult for lots of different individuals,” he said. “I wouldn’t have said that it affected me too much, I was always confident that everything would eventually get sorted out because I know the landscape and understand the A-League needs a Perth Glory. “But obviously it did affect lots of players and staff as well, so it was definitely a difficult time for people. “This year, we have the stability of the new owner, who is obviously very passionate about his sports, and seems to be investing his time and and money into this club.” Taggart is, as Glory fans will tell you, ‘one of their own’: born-and-bred in Perth, a product of the club’s youth system. He has called the northern suburbs home for most of his life, and after growing up as a supporter of the club, not gets to live out the dream of every fan by donning the purple shirt and scoring at The Shed end. With the new ownership now having settled in, they have made the retention and return of WA’s best players paramount, starting with the re-signings of former players and Perth locals Josh Risdon and Brandon O’Neill. “I’ve said that my whole career, to be honest, especially for Perth being so far away from everyone else and sort of disconnected from the rest of the country, it’s so important we get the best WA boys playing for Perth Glory,” Taggart said. “It’s a tragedy when I see some of our best WA talent going to other clubs, and I’m happy that’s been made a priority. “You’ve got two fantastic players in Rizzo and Branno coming back, both still within a good age to be producing good things for the club. “I’m over the moon for those two and I hope we keep doing that, because being in WA it’s just important to have people around the place that actually care about the club, understand where it’s where it’s come from, understand the history and the fanbase.” Risdon and O’Neill were not the only new arrivals in pre-season; in total, just 14 of last year’s squad have been retained on the club’s books, while coach Alen Stajcic made way for David Zdrilic. Zdrilic will bring with him a wealth of knowledge in the art of ‘gegenpressing’ and winning the ball up the pitch as high as possible, having done his coaching education at RB Leipzig in Germany. With the Glory hoping to execute such a specific tactical system system with a very different squad to last year, Taggart said the off-season had helped in establishing some cohesion. “It’s practically a completely new side,” he said. “A long pre-season is probably going to do us some good, to make sure that all of us are getting used to each other and understanding how each other play. “We’ve obviously got the players to (press), and it can definitely give you a real advantage. “I’m looking forward to doing that throughout the season, especially when teams are coming to Perth, because it’s always difficult for those teams, playing against us on the other side of the country with the travel and the heat, so we can use that to our advantage.”