It’s an Honour to Represent our Clubs and our Players
Ahead of tonight’s clash between Newcastle and the A-League All-Stars hear from All-Stars coach Patrick Kisnorbo and the A-League’s golden boot Adam Taggart.
“It’s an opportunity to represent the A-League. I’ve always loved coaching, I’m privileged to coach such a great bunch of players against one of the world’s best.” Kisnorbo began on Tuesday.
“It represents Australia’s football. We’ve got an Australian coach in the Premier League, we’ve got Australian players at Arsenal.”
Patrick Kisnorbo’s main striker tonight, Adam Taggart, backed up his gaffer’s findings;
“Yeah it’s a massive opportunity, [to have a game against Newcastle]. The young boys get to showcase what they’re all about and how they’ve progressed with the league this year.
“It’s a great honour for them to go up against some of the best in the world and hopefully it can kick them on and give them an opportunity to move overseas in the future as well.”
“I think time will tell [on my future] we will see what happens.” Kisnorbo said, after being asked if the game was a stepping stone for his future.
“It’s a great challenge [to have a squad that haven’t played together much]. I think opportunities like this, they don’t come often. They’ll be some work, but it’s what we signed up to do.
“As long as we’ve got our character and our roles and responsibilities we will keep it really simple. There’s four training sessions in three days, so they will be working a lot.
“It’s a short amount of time, it is what it is, we will do our best.”
“Yes [we’ve done a detailed tactical analysis] for the last probably two months. I only found out the squad, probably Sunday/ Monday. It’s a great challenge.”
“Of course we will watch [Newcastle and Tottenham’s game]. We will take it with a pitch of salt. They just got off the plane, they’re going to be tired.
“I think to be honest, it’s more about how we prepare and how we perform. As long as we go about it in the right way, I think we will be okay.”
Patrick Kisnorbo doesn’t believe that the distance Newcastle had to come makes any difference.
“At the end of the day we are talking about the World’s best. They’re conditioned in a different way, distance for me, isn’t an issue for them. They’ll be ready.”
Kisnorbo was quick to mention his relationship with Spurs boss, Ange Postecoglou;
“I’ve known Ange since I was 14, so it’s great. It’s just all the work he’s doing to inspire young coaches like myself and probably a lot of Australians, hopefully one day to play or train with us in the leagues of the world.
“The last time I spoke [to Ange] was a couple months ago. It’s more a personal note. It wasn’t about an occasion or football. I’m very lucky to have that relationship with such a great person, [the] guidance from him is really important.”
While Newcastle, Arsenal and the All-Stars are the main attraction on Friday, Adam Taggart has his eye set on the international window in June with the Socceroos.
With Australian head coach Graham Arnold naming his squad next week, the pressure is certainly on to perform for those that want a game against Palestine and Bangladesh.
“It’s a great opportunity for all of us, and for different reasons. For myself, it’s a great opportunity to stay fit, get some downtime and push for that call up after this camp.
“[We] are all fighting for the same cause, to do well in camp, against some top opposition. [I’m] thankful to be here and I think there’s a few boys in the same position.”