Hong Kong midfielder Philip Chan is out to silence Tai Po doubters with Senior Shield win
District club’s first shield since 2013 would save disappointing campaign, and playing in final ‘worth way more’ than in Lunar New Year Cup
Philip Chan Siu-kwan believes Tai Po desperately need to win the Senior Shield on Wednesday to “turn down the negative noises” that have gathered around the reigning league champions.
Poised to battle BC Rangers for the first trophy of the campaign, Tai Po have waved the white flag on their Hong Kong Premier League title defence following a season marred by injuries and uncharacteristic fallibility at the back.
They conceded 13 goals during a recent run of three defeats in four matches that left them cut adrift from runaway leaders Kitchee.
Chan, who said the final was “worth way more” than Hong Kong’s Lunar New Year Cup clash with FC Seoul on Saturday, acknowledged that his physical, quick and direct side had started to become predictable, and that “other teams know what we’re up to”.
“We’re changing, but it doesn’t happen quickly,” Chan said. “Noises from outside are saying we’re a different team from last season, but we can turn everything around … winning the final would turn down the negative noises. We need it more than we want it.”
Along with the AFC Champions League Two campaign that clogged Tai Po’s calendar and led to complaints of injury and fatigue, the club was hit hard by the Wang Fuk Court fire that killed 168 people in the district.