Robbie Keane sends Troy Parrott warning to Tottenham fans

There is understandably a lot of expectation on Tottenham youngster Troy Parrott’s shoulders, with many in the Republic of Ireland considering the youngster to be the nation’s next great goal scoring hope.

His record at youth football has been outstanding for the last couple of years and he was rewarded with his first senior international cap for Ireland in their 3-1 win over New Zealand on Thursday.

Mick McCarthy insisted that he was impressed with the striker’s performance (RTE) and Ireland’s assistant coach and Spurs legend Robbie Keane has now given his take on Parrott’s development.

Keane, who like Parrott also made his senior debut for Ireland aged 17, spoke about what has impressed him about the youngster.

Speaking to FAI TV, the former Spurs forward said, “With connections at Tottenham, I’m down at the training ground a bit and I have a lot of good friends down there, so I’ve been aware of Troy for the last few years.

“I met him a year-and-a-half ago at Tottenham when he was only 15-and-a-half, but you could see the size of him then. He is already maturing as a lad and for any kid at 17-years-of age is fantastic.

“I was in his position and to make your debut for Ireland at that age is the proudest moment you can have in your footballing career, there is no question about that.

However, Keane also warned fans not to put too much pressure on the youngster and spoke of the need for him to play regularly in order to continue his development.

Keane added, “We have to be careful that we don’t put too much pressure on him. He needs to go out and get games as that is important for his development.

“Troy’s future is up to him. You have to have the desire in training every day to get better. Every day, have that mentality to score goals. He’s a good lad, he’s confident in his own ability, but he’s 17, so we have to be careful, we are not putting too much pressure on him. Knowing him, I think he enjoys the pressure and that makes for a good player.

“He’s training with the first team at Tottenham every day. These lads are top, top professionals and they will train the way they play. He can give as good as he gets and he’s going to get better. He’s got a bright future.”

Spurs Web Opinion

We have countless examples of talented young players failing to develop as expected at the club. So one cannot get too excited just yet about Parrott. However, it is clear that he has the right mentality to keep improving and working hard at his game. Hopefully, he will fulfil his potential at the club.

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