Troy Parrott opens up on the pressure he faced at Tottenham and desire to deliver for Ireland

AZ Alkmaar forward Troy Parrott says Ireland fans have not seen the best of him yet.

Troy Parrott has declared that the best is yet to come - as the Ireland striker prepares to live up to the hype that has surrounded him ever since he made his Premier League debut as a 17-year-old.

The Dubliner is making serious inroads in the senior game ever since his move to the Netherlands.

First, he went to Excelsior on loan, where he scored 17 goals in 32 appearances. Now the former Tottenham prospect is at AZ Alkmaar and already he has netted six times in 10 games.

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An unused substitute in last month’s Nations League defeats to England and Greece, Parrott is ready to push on at international level, just like he is doing in the club game.

He wants to add to his five goals so far in 23 senior caps - and when asked if Ireland fans had seen the best of him yet, he replied: “Me, personally? No, I don’t think so.

“I’ve had some good moments in the Ireland shirt to date. But another thing I want to do in Holland is keep improving. I’m not the finished article.

“I need to keep getting better and learn more stuff. To answer the question, no, you’ve not seen the best of me.”

Parrott feels his game is finally flourishing now that he has swapped the English game for a career on the continent.

That’s down in part to a style of football to which he feels he is more suited. And then there is the switching off of the bright spotlight that has tracked him ever since he signed his first professional contract at Spurs in February 2019.

“I think you are right in what you say about there being quite a lot of pressure put on,” he said of his time with the North London side.

“I was younger, I’ll tell the truth, it used to get to me a bit but now I am older, I have played more games, I have been in England and the Netherlands and am experiencing new things, so being away, it’s not necessarily being out of the spotlight, it’s just a new experience for me I’m really enjoying.

“For me to be enjoying my football is the most important thing. It is one of the reasons why I have managed to do well up to now.”

Would he advise other Irish youngsters to leave the familiar surroundings of the UK game?

“I don't know if I can tell them ‘you should go there or you should not’, I think it's different for everyone,” he replied. “It suited me a lot to move away and play somewhere else. There could be a young Irish lad who goes to the UK and does really well straight away. For everyone it's different.”

He added: “The style of football (in the Dutch game) is different. I played a lot in the Championship, a bit in League One, the style of football in the Netherlands is different to the championship and I think it suits me more in Holland.”

Parrott, still just 22 years of age, was sent out on loan to Millwall in the Championship, Ipswich Town and MK Dons in League One, and Preston in the Championship again, before that fateful move to Excelsior.

His form there convinced AZ to take the Irishman from Tottenham for good.

Between his four English loan moves, Parrott scored 16 goals in 113 appearances. He scored more in one year in the Eredivisie and is on track to beat that tally this year.

Asked how the pressure affected him, Parrott replied: “Trying to live up to the hype at such a young age. It was never going to happen that early because football isn’t so easy. For me it was more about growing up a bit and trying to block out the noise.”

AZ fans have quickly warmed to the Dubliner and he has warmed to Dutch football.

“It’s been good. I can’t complain. I’m enjoying it, I’m enjoying playing games,” he said. “As of recently, the team we haven’t been doing too well the last couple of games but before that, we were flying. It’s been a good start.”

He scored his first European goal when he netted the winner in Europa League clash with Elfsborg.

“One of the reasons I went there is because of the European football, so to be playing in them games and get my first European goal was a nice feeling,” he said. “I’ve had a small taste of (European football) now with two games and I can only ask for more.”

Looking ahead to this international window, and the trips to Helsinki and Athens to face Finland and Greece, Parrott hopes for more than just a watching brief.

“It was disappointing,” he said of his unused sub role last time around. “As a player you always want to play. Obviously I’ve had some good moments for Ireland as well so to not play and not get a chance to show myself was disappointing.

“It’s not something I’m going to sit around and cry about. We’re here now, it’s a new camp, we have to see what happens.

“I want to play, I’m ready to play. But again, it’s the manager’s decision, I can only come here and be as fit as I can, play, train the best I can and see what happens.”

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