Real Monarchs SLC opened its season last Saturday at Tulsa Roughnecks FC and subsequently walked away with three points from Tulsa for the first time since 2016. Head Coach Mark Briggs joined Real Salt Lake Director of PR Matt Gaschk and former Real Salt Lake man Chad Barrett on the local radio show “On Frame” to discuss the match against Tulsa and what’s ahead for the Monarchs in 2018.
High expectations have carried the Monarchs into 2018 after winning the USL Regular-Season Championship a season ago and with the target on its back, the club is looking forward to the new challenges the 2018 season will produce.
“At the football club we’ve created a culture that’s ever evolving,” Briggs explained on Monday night. “We’ve created a culture where you have to earn whatever you get. This year that is going to be huge.”
As season ago, the Monarchs played to a club-best record of 20-5-7 (67 points) during the regular season to earn itself the USL Regular-Season Championship. Even with a successful year where silverware was won, the club still has a hunger to prove its worth once again in the 2018 season and has strengthened its squad even further in the offseason.
“Last year we sat down and looked over who in the league would make our team better,” Briggs said. “The players we’ve brought in know what it takes to win games and they have experience in the professional ranks. We’re exciting to watch because we have so many exciting players.”
Leaders have emerged in this year’s team with Chandler Hoffman leading the way in the locker room and on the field. The former MLS Cup winner and finalist in last season’s USL MVP and Golden Boot races, Hoffman now leads his team not only on the score sheet player but as this year’s captain for the Monarchs.
“Chandler will be our captain this year,” Briggs said. “He’s worked hard to set an example within the team. He’s taken on that leadership role and now having the armband on provides him the opportunity to strengthen his game and evolve as a leader.”
In 2018 the Monarchs will wear a patch on the sleeve of its jersey in remembrance of former assistant coach Liam Miller who tragically passed away in early-February after a courageous battle with pancreatic cancer. Although a quiet personality, the former Irish international, Manchester United and Celtic midfielder never turned away from connecting with the players around him as he left a lasting legacy on everyone who knew him.
“Liam was a very good friend of mine,” Briggs reflected. “For what he did in his career, he was the most humble person. You had to force him to tell you who he played for and the best players he played against. For the players at the club he brought quality. He was a quiet man but whenever he did speak he had an impact on the players. Having the ‘LM’ patch on jersey will help carry with us the effect he had on us in his time here.”
