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Socceroo Adam Taggart may be about to kick off a new season in South Korea but his thoughts are with his fellow professionals in Australia.
Socceroo striker Adam Taggart may be buzzing ahead of the start of the K-League season but he's very much feeling for his fellow professionals in Australia.
Taggart's Suwon Bluewings will return to competitive action on May 8 when they face Jeonbuk in the season opener of South Korea's top flight.
While the ex-Brisbane Roar, Perth Glory and Newcastle Jets marksman can't wait to get the season underway, he's mindful A-League players are dealing with an uncertain future amid a COVID-19 enforced shutdown of the competition.
"It's a little bit disappointing to see the way everything's been dealt with in terms of the players and things like that," Taggart told AAP.
"Looks like they've gone through a bit of a difficult period but I'm sure they'll get that sorted soon.
"For me personally, obviously I'm buzzing to be back into it but at the same time I feel for all the other leagues that everyone else's personal situation is going through a bit of tough time at the moment."
Taggart was the K-League's top scorer in his first season with Suwon last year, notching 20 goals.
He hit the target in a 1-0 pre-season friendly win over Seoul E-Land on the weekend as preparations get underway for the new campaign, which has been reduced to 27 games per team from 38 after coronavirus delayed the season's start.
Despite 242 people dying from the virus, Taggart revealed handling life in South Korea during the crisis hadn't been as tough as many would presume.
"It was obviously the second highest amount of cases other than China (in the early stages), so it was a bit scary at the start but without locking everything down and keeping everyone at home they've managed to drop the numbers down incredibly," he said.
"Life's actually not been too hard, we've been able to carry on training the whole time. The only thing they blocked was friendly games and things like that."
Taggart's strong form in Korea earned him a spot back in the national team set-up after five years, going on to score in World Cup qualifiers against Taiwan and Jordan.
Now the 26-year-old's next aim is to keep his form going to ensure he's on Graham Arnold's teamsheet the next time the Socceroos are able to play.
"It was fantastic to be back involved last year. It was a long-term goal," he said.
"That was one of the reasons I came to Korea as well.
"I think a nice start to the season and to try and carry on my form from last year will definitely help me with that because it's one of the most important things to me in terms of playing football."
