Adam Taggart prepared to let his boots do the talking

As one of the most accomplished strikers in Australian, Adam Taggart knows you live and die by the number of goals you score.

Brisbane Roar’s Adam Taggart, left, after scoring against the Mariners on Sunday

As one of the most accomplished strikers in Australia, Adam Taggart knows you live and die by the number of goals you score.

By and large, Taggart has made a good fist of it. So much so that he has been capped by the Socceroos, played at a World Cup and earned a contract with Fulham in the English Premier League before being loaned out to a club in Scotland.

When you’re a striker, great responsibility falls at your feet, as everyone saw on Sunday, when Taggart made his debut for Brisbane Roar in the 1-1 draw with Central Coast Mariners at Suncorp Stadium.

Taggart scored the goal that ultimately earned the Roar a share of the spoils, but the after-match focus was on the number of chances he missed that probably should have resulted in his side taking all three competition points.

He had another “goal” chalked off by the Video Assistant Referee, but the talk was still of his inability to convert six or seven chances that presented themselves to him.

Despite a tough opening game, Taggart isn’t about to lose any sleep, issuing a guarantee that he is not someone “who will go hiding”.

“Being a striker, you are going to miss chances and I’d be lying if I said I am not going to miss again,” Taggart said yesterday.

“I am prepared to miss in order to score goals.

“Anyone who understands sport understands you have to put yourself in those positions and that’s my focus every game … it’s about the process, getting myself in those positions.

“Something I can guarantee is that I’ll never go hiding. As tough as the game is, as bad as I am playing, if I miss 20 chances I’ll still show up for the 21st.

“I’ll show up for my teammates and I’ll always want to take responsibility for my own performances.”

Taggart, who has always been an honest and open person to deal with, admitted that playing at a stadium he had not played in for five years and one with a new pitch was something he had to get used to.

But he wasn’t using it as an excuse, instead promising he would get better.

“I am always looking to improve, to get better,” he said. “I’ll keep working hard. The more I play, the better. Once you get into the rhythm of scoring goals it just seems to happen naturally.”

While there was no goal barrage against the Mariners, Taggart still won praise for his performance, with suggestions he might be back in the frame for the Socceroos.

He played against The Netherlands and Spain at the World Cup in Brazil in 2014, but hasn’t been seen in the green and gold since. A proven goalscorer and still only 25, he is likely to come to the attention of new Socceroos boss Graham Arnold.

But Taggart said he preferred to focus on his job at the Roar.

“It’s obviously nice to be put in the same context as the Socceroos and I’d be lying if I said I don’t want to be there again, but I am not the type of player who will say I should be there or something like that,” he said.

He said talk of Australian selection “annoys me because I have so much respect for the national team.

“ I’ll just keep working hard and focusing on Brisbane Roar. They have brought me here so I’ll work hard at training every day and if the rewards come then so be it.”