Kenny’s eye on Parrott to lead the line
STEPHEN KENNY has confirmed that Spurs teenager Troy Parrott, 17, is in his thoughts for Ireland U21 selection ahead of the European Championships.
Asked would he consider Parrott for involvement, Kenny said, ‘Of course, he’s someone to consider. He’s an excellent player.’
Kenny was at Stevenage last month to see Spurs play Liverpool in an U23 game, where Parrott featured late on as a substitute.
‘I will go to see him (Parrott) again,’ said Kenny, who also intends to speak with the Dubliner.
The Republic of Ireland U21s start their campaign against Luxembourg in Tallaght on March 24 and Kenny is clearly covering the bases to assess all eligible players — he attended four matches in England last week.
At one of them, involving the Southampton U23s, there were five Irish players, not including the injured Michael Obafemi.
Kenny revealed he is keeping tabs on players in the Slovakian and Dutch League and joked about spending two weeks checking on the Central Coast Mariners just north of Sydney where Stephen Mallon has gone on loan.
‘You have to consider everyone,’ he said.
‘There are players connected to Inter Milan and Bayern Munich but what club the player is with won’t determine my decision. I will pick with my own eyes and make decisions,’ he said.
Following a 1-0 win for the Ireland U21s against the Ireland Amateurs in a friendly on Wednesday night, Kenny insisted that striker Michael O’Connor wants to play for the Republic.
O’Connor had been due to play for Linfield on Tuesday night and, according to Kenny ‘was just pleading with Linfield to let him come (to Dublin) and impress.’
In a recent newspaper report, O’Connor indicated he was switching allegiances to the North, but Kenny dismissed such a claim.
‘I haven’t read that interview but that’s not what he (O’Connor) says to me.
‘Michael wants to play here. He’s desperate to play. He is Dundalk through and through. I don’t know any more than that.’
UCD winger Neil Farrugia is also rowing in behind the Republic, despite interest from Malta.
‘Neil’s a very exciting player. There are not too many left-footed left wingers who beat their man on the outside now. He has pace, and a genuine work ethic.
‘He qualifies for four countries, he said to me. France, Malta and Spain. He had an approach from Malta but he’s committed, he wants to play for Ireland.’ ‘I said to him, “I hope I shouldn’t be expecting a call from Didier Deschamps”, laughed Kenny. Kenny was impressed with the attitude of the young guns, who all turned up for a three-day camp in Dublin in deep mid-winter. ‘Aaron Bolger got his loan move to Cardiff. He could have gone on Monday but he was anxious to get these three days and try and impress before he could go.’ ‘I wanted to see what they are like close up and whether they would play in a team that I would manage. That was important for me. ‘To be honest, they are a terrific group, all very humble and wanted to be involved.’ This was Kenny’s first match away from day-to-day club football. Is he missing it? ‘I’m sure I will do. I have just been quite busy going to matches. I was at a League Two match last week, a match in the FA Cup and then two Under 23 games. And then there was this three-day camp and obviously meetings with the staff, so it has been a busy time.’ What’s next for Kenny? ‘The squad announcement is early March, so I have got a lot to get through before then. ‘We were plotting today on the number of matches we’d have to go to over the next four weeks before we finalise the squad.’ The Ireland U21s have rarely, if ever, got so much attention from so many.