Newcastle Jets striker Adam Taggart has praised interim coach Clayton Zane’s influence in the club’s desperate battle for a place in the Hyundai A-League finals.
Newcastle Jets striker Adam Taggart has praised interim coach Clayton Zane’s influence in the club’s desperate battle for a place in the Hyundai A-League finals.
While the Jets’ top six hopes took a hit with Sunday night’s 2-1 defeat to Perth Glory, their form has been on the up in recent weeks to have them back in finals contention.
Zane, a former Socceroo striker himself, took the reins from the sacked Gary van Egmond just over two months ago and after a slow start they have begun to find their groove, despite the late surrender against the Glory.
“Clayton came in with a real positive attitude and gave everyone a bit more freedom to implement their own game on the pitch and work to each others’ strength,” said Taggart, who scored his 14th goal of the campaign in the match to increase his golden-boot lead to three goals.
“I think we’ve all started to do that now, especially in that final third.
“It’s hard to just come in and implement a whole new style. He’s done a great job and the mood in training has been really good.
“I guess next season will be a bit different whether it’s him or someone else because they will have time to implement what they want to do.”
It’s understood the Jets hierarchy have started looking at full-time coaching options for next season but won’t be making any decisions until after a season review.
Zane will almost certainly be in the mix – especially if he can pilot the Jets into the finals.
Taggart said the interim boss had the support of the players but says it’s up to the club to select the best candidate for the job.
“It’s not up to us who’s the coach,” said Taggart when asked about Zane’s credentials for the position.
“But we knew him (Zane) well before he was the head coach when he was the assistant so a lot of players, including myself, are very close with him.
“He’s someone who always wants to improve you individually which for myself and other young players is really helpful.
“We’re all happy with Clayton, we’re just hoping we can all go into the finals together.”
The Jets, who haven’t played finals football since 2010, finish the regular season with home matches against Melbourne Victory next Saturday night and Adelaide United the following Friday.
To purchase your tickets to the Jets- clash with Victory this weekend, click here.
