Taggart rising to a new challenge

Gerry Taggart

GERRY TAGGART admits he has come across a few surprises in his short time as Paul Dickov’s right-hand man.

The former Northern Ireland centre-back cuts an imposing figure on the touchline, never more so than when visibly remonstrating with Preston manager Darren Ferguson and goalkeeper Andy Lonergan following Ryan Brooke’s injury sustained in a friendly at the weekend.

Few in the game would trifle with 39-year-old Taggart — who moved to Boundary Park after holding a role at Leicester City — despite his tongue-in-cheek assertion at the fans’ forum that Dickov was the one that Athletic’s players should be worried about, with his ‘short man syndrome’.

What is clear is that the players appear to have taken on board the work ethic Taggart and Dickov have tried to instil.

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