Tottenham head coach Jose Mourinho has claimed teenage forward Troy Parrott has a great deal of work ahead of him to prove he has the quality to compete for a regular place in Spurs' first-team squad.
Parrott came off the bench in extra-time of Wednesday night's penalty shootout defeat against Norwich in the FA Cup fifth round. Though the 18-year-old's introduction resulted in loud cheers around the ground, his impact on proceedings was limited.
He stepped up to take Tottenham's fourth penalty in the shootout, but his effort was saved by Tim Krul, who ultimately won his side the tie after then saving Gedson Fernandes' spot-kick.
Mourinho was quick to defend his young forward over his penalty miss. Speaking to BBC Sport, he said: "The penalty is nothing. He is a penalty taker in the Under-23s, he scores every one. He was so confident, he wanted to take one, he wanted to take the responsibility, it's an experience in his career."
Despite initially defending Parrott, he highlighted the lack of impact the striker made during his time on the pitch, and went on to suggest this was proof that the 18-year-old is not yet ready to play a bigger role in the team.
"The problem is not his experience. The problem is the 30 minutes. Now people can see that he has to work a lot, so don't think that Parrott is the second Harry Kane because he's just a young kid that needs to work."
Mourinho has repeatedly demonstrated his reluctance to involve Parrott in the first team, despite his shortage of options up front given the long-term injuries of Kane and Son Heung-min.
The Spurs boss claimed his involvement last night came only because Spurs' squad is stretched ahead of their Premier League game against Burnley at the weekend, and the second leg of their Champions League round of 16 tie against RB Leipzig.
"I have to think about what's next and I have to speak to my club because I think some of these boys to have a chance to fight Tuesday for a Champions League position they just can't play on Saturday," Mourinho added.
"Particularly in forward positions, behind we've got options but not going forward.
"I have to say Steven Bergwijn, it's too much for him to play so many minutes like he is doing. I prefer to call Lucas [Moura] a hero, he is playing every minute of every game in every position to help the team but he told me he had to go out or he's going to get injured."
Source :
90min
