‘I’d say I got a little bit lucky’ – Troy Parrott on his goal as he hopes John O’Shea gets the Ireland job

The striker’s 92nd-minute winner at Lansdowne Road saw O’Shea pick up his first win as interim boss at the third attempt, with his chances of becoming Stephen Kenny’s permanent successor still up in the air as the FAI’s search drags on.

The Waterford native will hope this victory, Ireland’s first of note in almost two years, will strengthen his hand in landing the full-time role, and Parrott has given O’Shea his backing ahead of next week’s clash with Portugal.

“Yeah, I think so. I like working with him, so we’ll see what happens,” said match-winner Parrott when asked if O’Shea was well able for international management.

“I missed the last camp [last March], so this is my first time with him. Even when he was in, with the last manager [as assistant coach], I loved working with him. [Coming on] He told me, ‘You’re in form, go and see what you can do’. I felt good coming on. The way I’m feeling recently, if I can get a chance, I can score.

“I feel like we’ve got a really good team and some really good players. Obviously, results have been difficult to come by for us, but if you really look at the games we have played, it’s very rare we lose 2-0, 3-0, 4-0.

“We’re always in games, results just haven’t swung our way. Hopefully, now we can push on and start getting some wins. I think it [win over Hungary] is big for us. We have played a lot of difficult teams recently, so to get a win is nice, and hopefully, we can get another big performance against Portugal.

The winner was Parrott’s first goal in an Irish shirt in almost two years since the 3-0 Nations League win over Scotland, but he admitted he got a little lucky with the finish as Hungary ‘keeper Peter Gulacsi almost denied the striker of his big moment.

“I’d say I got a little bit lucky, but I’m happy it went in and we got the win,” added Parrott after bagging his fifth Ireland goal on his 22nd cap.

“Especially at the minute, I’m full of confidence, so I never thought I’d miss going through.”

The Tottenham Hotspur striker spent last season on loan with Dutch top-flight side Excelsior Rotterdam and enjoyed his best season in front of goal in senior football to date with 17 goals in 32 appearances.

“I’ve loved it over there. It’s been everything I hoped would happen when I first decided to go over, so I’m buzzing,” said the Dubliner.

“Before I went over, I was questioning it a little bit because it’s a foreign country with a different language. I didn’t know what to expect, but as soon as I went there, everyone speaks English and it’s not too different. The football is different, but the lifestyle and the people are not too different.

“I can’t really ask for more, playing games and scoring goals. It’s what every striker wants to do. I feel like it’s more technical over there. You have to use your brain a lot more rather than just being physical. It’s suited me and how the season has gone has shown that.”

With one year remaining on his deal at Spurs, Parrott said there have been no conversations with boss Ange Postecoglou regarding his future at the London club.

“No, not yet. I’m sure I will have those conversations after my break. I just want to have a holiday and go from there.”