John O'Shea: Troy Parrott 'reaping the rewards of the practice and dedication'

Fit and ready after coming through club action at the weekend, Parrott will be the focus of Ireland's attack against Czechia in Prague

SPEARHEAD: Fit and ready after coming through club action at the weekend, Parrott will be the focus of Ireland's attack against Czechia in Prague. Pic: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile

Studs raking across an underlay of concrete caused a cacophony of noise at FAI headquarters yesterday but the flashbulbs only erupted when the one player in flats ambled towards the training pitch.

A nation will tune into Thursday’s World Cup playoff yearning to recreate scenes of yesteryear. Troy Parrott showed them in November what’s possible.

Injuries to Josh Cullen and Evan Ferguson have punctuated Ireland’s build-up to the resumption of their crusade towards North America, a first global spectacular since 2002 just two matches within reach.

They seem peripheral subplots to the main attraction of Parrott’s health. Relief was apparent when he was last player to emerge from the club weekend series without reporting any bodily ailment.

Thus, he was entitled to sit out the opening session of the week, taking his seat on the bench in his runners after mingling with young autograph hunters en route.

The 24-year-old will be sufficiently rested in time for Tuesday’s session, circled by management as the sole day in the run-up for confidential and cogent instructions to be delivered on the training pitch.

A locked and loaded Parrott will be at the fulcrum, yielded from complementing his undoubted talent with application.

"Troy is reaping the rewards of the practice and dedication he has given to his career over the last few years,” said John O’Shea about Parrott’s trajectory from touted wonderkid at Tottenham to prolific striker at AZ Alkmaar.

“Other good strikers have plenty of loan spells in English leagues, whether it is League One or the Championship.

“It takes a few loan spells for everything to click in terms of the mentality and physicality of a player.

“Nathan and I would know from our time with the U21s that game understanding was always there with Troy from the underage phase.

"That capacity he has for scoring goals, it became a case of knuckling down, doing the work, making sure he stays as fit as possible.

“Then it was about being clever to pick his club. He is playing in Europe as well. He has been very calculated about where he has gone to develop and he is reaping the rewards."

Collins has observed the ascent too, mindful that the Boy Wonder endured lulls in the face of hype surrounding him.

"I've played with Troy for many years through the ranks,” said the Ireland skipper.

“He's always been a really good footballer but sometimes it does not click on the pitch.

“That does not take away from being a good footballer, from understanding the game or knowing how good he is.

“There are loads of different variables and reasons as to why he might not be clicking at that time.

“But there has always been a footballer in Troy. I am so happy now that it is shining and showing how good he is."

In contrast, the career of Collins was linear in direction, accumulating fees of €70m by moving from Stoke City to Burnley, Wolves and finally Brentford.

The first setback of his career came this season when, despite captaining the Bees, compatriot Keith Andrews didn’t restore him to the team following injury.

“That was tough thing mentally and challenging, especially when you’re club captain,” he explained.

“It becomes a different role because you must find that balance of being frustrated and annoyed while also still pushing the team and wanting the best for everyone around you.

“It was a new challenge but I’ve learned a lot from it.” 

Then came the quip from O’Shea, sat beside him. “We can thank Keith for giving Nathan a rest!” 

One day of downtime is all Parrott requires to revive into the marksman armed to deliver further jubilation for Ireland.