TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR FANS "don't even know" what Troy Parrott looks like according to Jose Mourinho amid calls for the Irish youngster to start more matches.
With Harry Kane out injured, Fernando Llorente and Vincent Janssen getting the chop, and Son Heung-min, y'know, not being a striker (and also injured) - Spurs have been left completely void of options up front.
Mourinho, who's isn't usually one to whinge, has made it perfectly clear just how difficult his job has become due to the dearth of centre forwards within his supremely talented squad of professional footballers.
"We have zero strikers," he moaned to reporters following his side's 2-1 defeat to Chelsea last month.
Only, he does.
18-year-old Troy Parrott has spent the last year-and-a-half scoring for fun for the club's youth team, and even made his senior Ireland debut in November after impressing Mick McCarthy - and he's now Tottenham's only fit striker.
Dublin , Ireland - 19 November 2019; Troy Parrott of Republic of Ireland during the UEFA European U21 Championship Qualifier match between Republic of Ireland and Sweden at Tallaght Stadium in Tallaght, Dublin. (Photo By Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile via Getty Images)He might not be a long-term solution for them, but Spurs fans have been urging Mourinho to give the young striker a chance, particularly when he's been so vocal about their injury crisis.
Despite this though, Mourinho has sensationally claimed that those fans don't even know what Parrott looks like.
"This is a world where lots of people, they don't even know if Troy has long hair or short hair." he said.
"Or is blonde or is dark. They don't even know that and speak about 'Troy, Troy, Troy, Troy, he should play'.
"There was a guy behind me on the bench the other day, 'Play Troy, play Troy'. I don't think he knows Troy."
Mourinho has used the Dublin-born forward a couple of times this season, but only as a substitute, and the Portuguese manager insists that Parrott - and the Tottenham fans - must be patient.
"Troy has qualities," he said. "He has potential but he's not an end product. He has a lot to learn, a lot to develop at every level.
"We're taking good care of a young player and also taking care of a young boy in society.
"That's a process. He's 18. One month ago he was 17, so he's not even close to being 19.
"He's going to be on the bench again. He already has two Premier League appearances which is not normal for an 18-year-old kid. He's a privileged one."
Better than the special one, or the humble one, I suppose.
