Carrick Rangers legend confident club have required quality to climb Premiership table and hails impact made by Stuart King

The Loughview Leisure Arena outfit sit bottom having lost their last eight consecutive matches and head into Saturday’s showdown with Cliftonville on the back of Stuart King’s managerial departure following a midweek BetMcLean Cup exit to Queen’s University.

Only Loughgall (26) have conceded more goals than Carrick (21) this term while the County Antrim side have scored the league’s fewest (seven) throughout a torrid run of form.

The assignment for the new manager doesn’t get much easier with their weekend Reds clash followed by fixtures against established powers Coleraine, Glentoran and Linfield in the next month but Taggart, who made over 500 appearances for the ‘Gers, is confident star quality will shine through.

"In the last one or two years, Stuart, Peter (Clarke) and the other board members have done a fantastic job,” he said. "If you look at how many players they’ve signed that have played for the likes of Glentoran and Crusaders, it shows their recruitment has been very good.

"It’s a fantastic squad which Stuart and Carrick should take plaudits for, but that squad has to take some of the blame. I don’t know how many managers left during my time at the club, but you always felt partly to blame.

"It’s nobody’s fault – everyone wants to progress and be the best version of themselves...it’s a good squad that Stuart has put a lot of hard work in to put together which somebody will come in and get to benefit from, which is football.

"You look at (Arne) Slot at Liverpool who inherited a very good squad and he only had to tweak a couple of things. I do think naturally whether it was with Stuart or now without him that their fortunes would have changed with the quality Irish League players they have.”

King left having delivered the club’s highest-ever Premiership finish of seventh last term, collecting more wins and points than before along the way, and Taggart has no doubts that the ex-Linfield winger will soon be back in the game making an impact.

"Carrick fans are unique in that they’re so supportive and seeing all the positive online comments for Stuart...he still has a lot of backing for what he did at the club,” he added. “Everyone wants to blame the manager, but players should share a large part of the things that didn’t go right in recent weeks.

"Carrick’s last couple of managers have been man motivators and had an ‘us against the rest’ mentality and I’d love that as a player and they’re people you’d want to fight for on the pitch.

"The fans seem to have given Stuart a lot of support even since his departure so there was obviously a connection there between them. You want people like that in charge of the club.

"I’m totally on the outside now and don’t know what direction they want to go with the club – maybe the want a total change in style, but he endeared himself to the fans and that’s a thing you do when you’re hitting targets and achieving history.

"There were so many positives that could only endear Stuart to the fans and hopefully he takes some time away, regroups with the people who love him and I’ve no doubt with the character he appears to be that he won’t be out of football for too long.”