Jose Mourinho Says Some Tottenham Fans Don't Know What Troy Parrott Looks Like
March 4, 2020
Jose Mourinho has hit back at Tottenham Hotspur fans calling for Troy Parrott to be used while Harry Kane and Heung-Min Son are sidelined by saying some "don't even know" what the 18-year-old looks like.
Spurs have been without either of their front-line forwards since it was confirmed last month that Son would miss "a number of weeks" with an arm injury:
The South Korean had taken on much of the goalscoring burden in Kane's enforced absence due to a hamstring injury, finding the net six times in the five games before he was sidelined.
Since Son has been out, Spurs have lost three games on the bounce.
In that time, Mourinho has handed Parrot, the only conventional striker left in his squad, just three minutes of game time.
The Portuguese manager said he does not believe many of the fans calling for him to give the teenager more opportunities know anything about him, per Sky Sports:
"This is a world where lots of people, they don't even know if Troy has long hair or short hair. Or is blonde or is dark. They don't even know that and speak about: Troy, Troy, Troy, Troy, he should play. There was a guy behind me on the bench the other day: Play Troy, play Troy. I don't think he knows Troy."
Parrot already has a senior international cap for Republic of Ireland and has been a regular goalscorer in Spurs' youth ranks.
Mourinho is not prepared to give him a big role in the senior side yet, though, adding that "he is not ready."
But Spurs do need to get back to winning ways. Back-to-back Premier League defeats against Chelsea and Wolverhampton Wanderers have seen the north London side drop down to seventh in the table, but the UEFA Champions League spots are still within reach:
On Wednesday, Tottenham are in FA Cup action when they host Norwich City in the fifth round.
Spurs should be aiming to go all the way in the FA Cup, not least because their 2019-20 Champions League campaign is hanging by a thread after a 1-0 home loss to RB Leipzig in the first leg of their last-16 tie.
The second leg takes place next Tuesday at the Red Bull Arena.
In between the Norwich and Leipzig clashes, Spurs visit Burnley in the Premier League, another tough test given the Clarets are on a six-game unbeaten run in the English top flight.