Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino has urged fans to be patient over the progress of Republic of Ireland U21 star Troy Parrott.
There have been renewed calls for the 17-year old to be promoted to the Spurs first-team following his two-goal haul away to Sweden for Stephen Kenny's side in the UEFA Euro U21 qualifiers in midweek.
Tottenham return to Premier League action against Crystal Palace this weekend, and will do so without Giovanni Lo Celso who is out until next month with a hip injury.
The Argentine's injury led some to suggest that Parrott could be given his Premier League debut sooner rather than later, while he's already been named in their Champions League squad.
Parrott was involved in the Spurs' squad on their pre-season tour of the United States, and Pochettino feels that experience has worked to his advantage, "The progress was there because he had the possibility to be involved in pre-season and now he's more consistent in training with the first time.
"I think he needs time and we need to be relaxed. We cannot put his name every day in the [spotlight] because I think we are not going to help him.
"He is still so young so the best way to help him is to be calm and relaxed for him."
🎥 | Troy Parrott goal for #IRLU21🇮🇪
Fantastic equaliser for Stephen Kenny's side as the @SpursOfficial man fires home! (1-1)#COYBIG pic.twitter.com/609gytsMmm— FAIreland ⚽️🇮🇪 (@FAIreland) September 10, 2019
Pochettino feels it's for the best that Parrott will flit between the first-team and U23s at White Hart Lane, "He's going to be involved sometimes - perfect. He's going to be involved with the U23 - perfect. Sometimes he's going to train with us - good.
"I think now is a process that he needs to be relaxed. If we put too much pressure [on him] we're going to push him to make a mistake and that is what we don't want
Asked about fans' positive reaction to Parrott's brace in Sweden, Pochettino sounded another note of caution, "Yeah, but the fans were excited when they saw me scoring on Twitter in training! The fans are so nice and so sensitive about many things.
"Of course fans are always trying to discover different things... but the fans need to be relaxed. We have plenty of players still in our squad - senior players - that are still above him."
Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!
Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.
