Phill Babb told Sky Sports during their live coverage of Saturday’s World Cup qualifiers that the Republic of Ireland have to ‘look at’ Tottenham’s Troy Parrott after their humiliation against Luxembourg.
Stephen Kenny’s side slumped to a shocking 1-0 defeat against the minnows, with Tottenham’s teenager coming off the bench with two minutes left on the clock.
It’s a worrying situation for the Irish because, after two defeats from two, it seems as though their hopes of reaching Qatar are already over.
And former ROI international, Babb made it clear that bringing on Parrott in the 88th minute was ‘too late’ and he is someone they now need to build the team around.
“He (Kenny has knowledge of the U21’s,” said Babb. “He is trying to implement them. Bring them in. Say sorry to the old guard, you have had a great run and we aren’t qualifying (for Qatar).
“We have to change and we have to put a blueprint in place. Bring these young players in, so we can get into a position where we can challenge and qualify for major tournaments.
“(Shane) Long has done it for years. But we have to look to the future now. He brings Troy Parrott on. Again, probably too late, in my opinion. He is one we have to look at in the future.”
There is a lot of pressure on someone like Parrott to deliver even though he is still trying to find his feet at the domestic level.
Ireland are crying out for a goalscorer and given the lack of quality, they are clutching at anything that is in front of them and Parrott is one of a few.
In truth, Parrott isn’t even proven on the League One stage, as he proved during his struggles at Championship side Millwall and now at Ipswich.
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