After a hectic international break in which he started all four Republic of Ireland fixtures, Troy Parrott was handed a rather less taxing assignment on his return to club action over the weekend.
The Dubliner was left out of the Real Betis starting XI for their game against Osasuna on Sunday, coming off the bench late on in a 5-2 victory. While the rest may well have been needed, it did see the forward miss an opportunity to add to his goal tally for the season in a comfortable win for his side.
He will be hoping for a lot more minutes when Betis host Porto in the Champions League on Wednesday evening.
Real Betis Boss Explains Troy Parrott Stance
Troy Parrott has been carefully managed since his move to Seville.
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Manager Manuel Pellegrini has restricted his minutes, leaving him out of the starting lineup for a number of games. The Irishman has played well when called upon, but it seems as though that he will continue to come in and out of the side for foreseeable future.
Speaking ahead of the Porto game, Pellegrini clarified how he viewed Troy Parrott’s position within the squad.
Regarding Troy, I think he’s just another player on the squad, and as I said, the whole squad is very committed.
When he’s had the chance to play, he’s responded fully. We saw him play against Real Madrid, and then he went to his national team and continued performing at a high level.
We are fortunate, too having Cucho, who is also playing at a very high level.
There is a squad committed to going as far as possible in all three competitions, and whenever their turn comes to play, I believe they have fully stepped up on the pitch.
Troy Parrott aiming for further Real Betis chances
Manuel Pellegrini tends to play with one central striker in the team, meaning there is rarely space for both Troy Parrott and Cucho in the same team. The Colombian forward has also been in excellent form this season, registering two goals and two assists in La Liga.
It will be interesting to see how this dynamic develops over the course of the campaign, but it seems unlikely that Real Betis would have made such a financial commitment to Troy Parrott if they did not see him becoming their main striker at some point this season.
Another Champions League goal against Porto would certainly do his chances of more minutes any harm, with a game against Barcelona to come this weekend.