Parrott is not ready to fly yet

MICK MCCARTHY wasn’t afraid to blood a teenage Robbie Keane when he first had the Ireland job.

But he warned that lightning is unlikely to strike twice with Troy Parrott who will continue to wait in the wings.

The young Tottenham striker, 17, was a scoring sensation for Ireland’s under-17s before stepping up to under-19s.

He recently signed a first pro contract with Spurs and his highly regarded by Mauricio Pochettino, but is now sidelined with an injury.

Record-scorer Keane was also 17 when Mccarthy handed him his senior debut in an away friendly against Czech Republic in 1998.

But Mccarthy said: “He was brilliant but he was playing first-team football at the time (for Wolves).

“Troy Parrott has not had any first-team football. Robbie went to see him and he got injured in an under-23 game.”

Mccarthy added: “I was watching Troy in a management meeting that we had, him and Adam Idah.

“I thought the two of them were very, very good at their level doing what they’re doing.”

Asked if Parrott might have been considered for the upcoming qualifiers had he not been injured, Mccarthy shot back with: “If me Auntie…..”

Meanwhile, Mccarthy wants a friendly against a Portuguese club side when Ireland hit the Algarve for their warm-weather training camp in May.

But so far he has been frustrated and said: “Their league finishes just before we’re going out there, so whether they’re still there or not…there’s nothing to fruition.”