Republic of Ireland striker Troy Parrott says the Irish squad have not given up hope of progressing to next year’s World Cup finals despite an underwhelming start to their qualifying campaign.
The AZ Alkmaar forward sat out the 2-2 home draw with Hungary and the shock 2-1 defeat by Armenia in Yerevan because of a knee injury.
He has been recalled to manager Heimir Hallgrimsson’s squad for Saturday’s Group F match away to Portugal and the return against the Armenians in Dublin on Tuesday.
With each country in the group playing just six games, the Republic of Ireland’s ambitions of travelling to North America already look like a long shot.
“We lost the game in Armenia so now we have to concentrate on these two games and see what we can do and still try to qualify,” Parrott said.
“It’s not over until it’s over. We have two more chances coming up now and all the focus is on the game on Saturday.
“It’s a new camp. We can all sit around and dwell on the past or we can try and do what we can with what we have and where we are right now.”
Parrott began his club season in the Netherlands impressively, scoring 10 goals in just seven matches, and was disappointed not to be able to play his part in the first two qualifiers.
“It was hard, especially the form I was in and the way I was playing. I was so excited for the camp and felt really confident coming in that I could really help the team, so to have that taken away was difficult.
“We all know it wasn’t good enough [in Armenia]. Obviously, I wasn’t in the game, so I don’t really know how it felt.
“As a fan really watching it on the telly, I had the same feeling as everyone else. I think we could have played a lot better and ultimately got the win. It was disappointing.”
The former Tottenham frontman believes the players must bear their share of the responsibility for the under-par display in Yerevan.
“People can blame the manager but the manager’s not on the pitch playing. He puts the team out, gives the tactics, the players are out there, we have to also do it as well.
“It has to be a collective disappointment and all of us take the blame together. That’s the way it has to be.”
