He enjoyed a dream Hyundai A-league season and young Newcastle Jets striker Adam Taggart believes he’s ready to be Australia’s World Cup bolter.
He enjoyed a dream Hyundai A-league season and young Newcastle Jets striker Adam Taggart believes he’s ready to be Australia’s World Cup bolter.
The 20-year-old is being talked about as a candidate for Ange Postecoglou’s squad for Brazil after a breakout A-League season where he scored 16 goals to take out the Golden Boot.
Postecoglou will name a 30-man squad on May 14, with the players to undertake a 10-day camp in Terrigal before a final squad of 23 has to be chosen for the tournament.
Taggart is hopeful of hearing his name read out in the preliminary squad, where he will get the chance to prove he deserves a ticket on the plane to Brazil.
“Why would you not be (ready)? Those sorts of things are what makes you learn and develop as a player,” Taggart said.
“You just have to give yourself the best opportunity to do that. Those experiences aren’t going to come around very often, if ever again as you never know what’s going to happen in your career.
“For an opportunity to come up like that you need to make sure you give yourself the best chance possible because you don’t want to let it slip by not putting in the effort and I’m doing that.
“Now the season’s over it’s about training hard and trying to get as much as you can out of it before the squad and the camps come up.”
One man who has no doubt Taggart is ready for a seat on the plane to Brazil is Newcastle coach Clayton Zane.
The Jets mentor has seen the way the Perth youngster has improved on a daily basis and believes he could be a shock weapon off the bench at the World Cup.
“I actually think he can offer something off the bench because he’s so quick and as an impact player he can be a real asset,” Zane said of Taggart.
“There’s no doubt he can have a big positive influence on the team just from an impact point of view, not from a starting role.
“I’m sure Ange, when it comes down to a fine line between two players, might go for a kid that is someone we want to invest in for the future of the national team so that’s another reason to take him, to give him that experience and open his eyes a bit as well.”
Taggart credited a prolonged run in the Jets’ first-team for his goal-scoring exploits this season but is adamant the lure of Brazil didn’t act as any inspiration.
“To be honest, during the season it didn’t motivate me any more than wanting to score goals the year after a World Cup,” he said.
“It doesn’t really bother me. It’s about doing a job and doing as best as I can and develop as a player and a person.
“I was just concentrating on week to week performances. That’s what’s going to get the opportunity. If you’re concentrating on the end product too much then that’s what’s going to interrupt how you-re performing.”
Postecoglou’s mandate for selection in the squad has been to be playing regularly and performing and Taggart is hopeful he’s met the brief.
“Everyone knows Ange isn’t a silly coach. He’s very experienced and really knows what he’s doing,” Taggart said.
“For us to have that confidence in him that if you’re doing well, you’ll get the opportunity is lovely.
“Having an Australian coach with that understanding is a massive motivation for us because he understands us as footballers and has been there every week to see us with your clubs.”
The final chance to see the Socceroos on home soil before they head to Brazil 2014 will be when they take on South Africa in a farewell game on May 26 in Sydney. Tickets for the match, presented by NAB, are on sale now. Click here to secure yours today.
