Troy Parrott may not feature against Belgium on Saturday. That alone makes the prodigious Dubliner’s situation so fascinating.
Recent career numbers fail to paint the 20-year-old in a spectacular light. The highlights remain impressive, yet all too brief. The lows would be alarmingly drawn-out if he was any older. Following reality-check loan moves to Millwall and Ipswich Town, Parrott once again took leave of the soap opera that is Tottenham Hotspur to spend a highly educational season at MK Dons. Goals rained down on League One before completely drying up. Two in his first three outings became three in eight, until a barren spell only ended this month with a brace against Cheltenham that brings his tally to five goals in 34 games. Spurs manager Antonio Conte has not been in touch about plans for next season but, presumably, the mother club has noticed the shift from centre forward to left or right wing in Liam Manning’s 3-4-3 system. At least Parrott knows one manager is watching.
“Troy has had to sacrifice himself for the team at MK Dons,” said Stephen Kenny before revealing a temptation to drop him.
“He’s had to play in a variety of positions. He had a little period where he lost his place, and you are thinking, ‘right, he’s got a job to do to make sure he stays in the international squad, because this is a little test for him.’
“But he knuckled down and he had about six consecutive matches where he played the full 90 minutes. Even though the manager was making three substitutions in the attacking areas, he was the one who was never taken off. So they are on a good run, they are third in League One and they are going well.”
The prolific teenager at Belvedere, possessing gifts far beyond the norm, is a version of Parrott that may never reappear in English football. “[Traditional number nine] is where I’ve played since I was a kid, really. I’ve been moved round a lot during the short time of my career so far, but as long as I’m in the team and playing I don’t mind, I can do a job wherever.”
The next leap, ideally on return to Spurs this summer, demands a statistical spike that must then be maintained. “It always helps when there’s more goals and assists,” said Parrott, noticeably curtailing his answers and depth of character.
“I’m sure it will come, I am focusing on working as hard as I can at the moment.”
Keep him benched
Kenny might hold a fondness for Parrott as the teenager effectively saved the Ireland manager’s job with a pair of goals on Andorra’s astro surface last June, but since that evening he has only played 19 minutes across six internationals.
What’s more noticeable is Kenny’s decision to keep him benched during home draws against Serbia and Portugal.
Callum Robinson and Chiedozie Ogbene have moved some distance ahead of Parrott but Adam Idah’s season-ending surgery offers a chance to keep pace with Will Keane – 20 goals and counting for Wigan in League One – and the versatile Jason Knight.
For every Robbie Keane or Damien Duff there are 10 equally gifted teenagers who lack the mental fortitude and luck that is essential to become a Premier League attacker. At least Parrott’s difficult journey down the divisions has prompted a simple philosophy that any elite athlete can understand.
“I think the most important thing is you should train how you play and that’s one of the things I have picked up while I have been out on loan,” said Parrott.
The Road to Damascus conversion appears to have occurred during a goal drought in the third tier of English football that spanned almost six months.
“It came at a time when I was in and out of the team and I just realised that ultimately you get one shot at this football game and where I was at the time wasn’t helping me get to where I wanted to get to and I realised I just needed to do more.” There is a scrapheap of middle-aged men who only attained such wisdom after being rinsed clean from the game.
“I didn’t need to change anything off the pitch. I was living how I should have been. I have my family around me which is good for me so most of it was just on-the-pitch stuff. I think it’s just realising some stuff and growing up as a person and as a player.”
Still, for a player who made his Spurs debut at 17, the past few years must have been a shock to the system. “It just shows that football is a weird sport. Anything can happen at any time. It is just realising that it is not as easy as I thought at 16, 17 that it was going to be.
“At the time I thought I was on the right track but even now I still think I am on the right track. Maybe at this age I would have liked to have played more games for Tottenham, but it hasn’t gone like that. I am where I am today. Where I wanted to be at 17 is still where I want to be now. Nothing changed in that regards. I am still striving towards that.
“It’s a good thing that I’ve realised that it can go one of two ways. The way I want to go is up.”
