London Football News

Tottenham boss Mourinho stands by decision amid criticism from Ian Wright

Jose Mourinho has again insisted that Troy Parrott is not ready for the Tottenham first team.

The Spurs boss has previously made it clear he does not believe the time is right for the highly-rated teenage striker to step up to senior level.

But Parrott was named as a substitute against Wolves and came on for the final few minutes.

However, Mourinho said at his post-match press conference that he still does not believe the player is ready for first-team football.

Mourinho’s attacking options are currently limited by injuries to key players, including Harry Kane.

Nevertheless, he appeared to rule out Parrott being given a starting place for the game against Norwich.

Mourinho said: “He’s not ready. He’s a good kid. He’s a good talent. He’s a kid that we want to help. He’s a kid that needs help – not just on the pitch but also outside the pitch. He’s a kid that we are going to take care of. And he’s a kid that is obviously going to have his real opportunity in the right moment when we feel it’s the moment.

“Why was he on the bench? He was on the bench because before the game (Erik) Lamela told me that he was not even ready to go on the bench.

“So in that moment, without Lamela, we brought in Troy and in the last five minutes we put a striker on that at least knows the position. That’s the way it is.”

Many Spurs fans disagree with Mourinho’s stance – and so does former Arsenal and England striker Ian Wright.

Speaking on the BBC’s Match of the Day 2 programme, Wright called for Parrott to be given a chance.

Wright said: “I’d say put Parrott on. I don’t know what three minutes is going to do for him.

“If he’s on the bench then give him 20 minutes and let’s see what he’s about. But he only got three minutes. I was gutted for him.

“They’ve got a young guy and they need a striker. You may as well throw him in and see if he can help you out in this situation.

“He might nick a couple of goals, do a (Marcus) Rashford – or a Harry Kane. Let’s have a look at Troy Parrott.”




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