Selangor defender Taylor Regan will not keep his big mouth shut. In fact, he plans to be louder in this M-League season.
The self-proclaimed big-mouthed Australian will be skippering the team, taking over from Amri Yahyah who has left the team.
“Last year, I arrived very late in the pre-season, so I was a little quiet but this year I’ve been here from the first day so I get to speak and help these boys every day,” said Regan, who joined Selangor last year.
“I have always been a bit of a big mouth. As a kid I used to get in trouble for talking too much … but on the pitch, it helps me organise things at the back, and it’s always good for me to be able to talk, especially now that I can speak a little Bahasa (Malay).”
“I see myself as a leader, I’m 31 years old, I’m at the back, and I have captained every professional team I have played for; Newcastle Jets, Negri Sembilan, vice-captain at Adelaide United, and now I’m captain at Selangor.”
“Don’t get me wrong, the captain is rarely the best player… but I’m not afraid to say what I have to say, to whoever I have to say it. And it will also help the team to know that if they need somebody to fight for them, I’ll be there.”
The Red Giants ended their pre-season Asia Challenge tournament as runners-up after losing in a penalty shoot-out 2-4 to Bangkok United after the final match remained goalless at the Shah Alam Stadium on Sunday.
The Klang Valley side had beaten Indonesian side Persib 3-0 in their opening match on Saturday. They also drew 1-1 with Vietnamese side Hanoi in an earlier pre-season match on Jan 13.
Regan said the team was shaping up well despite their mixed bag of results.
“We have to be happy … results-wise, we drew 1-1 against Hanoi. We were leading and only conceded a late equaliser when it was mostly the young boys playing in the second half,” said the centreback.
“Against Persib, were were dominant in the first half and against Bangkok, we took on a good team composed mostly of mixed-heritage players.”
“We can’t really be measured by our results in the pre-season… for now we just have to keep working to make sure that when we show up for the first match, we know that we are doing everything that we can.”