Tottenham Hotspur have always been on the lookout for the next bright spark to bring through the academy and into the first team.
With Japhet Tanganga having just made that leap, the shining light in the academy crown is certainly now seen as 18-year-old striker Troy Parrott.
The Irishman has two Premier League appearances under his belt already, as well as a full debut in the Carabao Cup earlier this season under Pochettino.
Mourinho subbed the youngster on for the final three minutes against Wolves on Sunday, before the teenager then started an U23 match the very next day.
However, the Special One has already revealed that Parrott will be on the bench for the FA Cup clash against Norwich City tonight at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium (Football London).
Mourinho has also claimed that he has had a word with Parrott about changing his attitude, something he also had to do with Scott McTominay at United, a player who has gone from strength to strength ever since.
Not only this, but Jose took aim at some fans who cry for Parrott to be played without really knowing him.
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Mourinho said (Guardian): “I was so happy with the way he performed [for the U23s] and I’m not speaking about his goal. I told him before the game: ‘Every time you play with the kids of your age, you have to show your colleagues why you are the privileged one.’ Because it was something he was not doing. Every time he was playing with the kids, he was playing with the mentality of, ‘I shouldn’t be here’ or, ‘I am too good to be here.’
“I had exactly the same words with Scott McTominay. He was not loved in his age group because he was not there with the right frame of mind. The moment we started changing that lots of things started changing for him.
“Troy cannot go there [the under‑age teams] with discontent, contempt. It is a process. So everything goes very, very well. But this is a world where lots of people don’t even know if Troy has long hair or short hair, or is blond or is dark. They don’t even know that and they speak about Troy, Troy, Troy. There was a guy behind me on the bench the other day: ‘Play Troy, play Troy.’ I don’t think he knows Troy.”
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