Republic of Ireland manager Stephen Kenny has praised Troy Parrott's work ethic in "knuckling down" at MK Dons after some difficult months in the 20-year-old striker's fledgling career.

The Tottenham man's stint at the League One club is his third loan spell.

Parrott lost his MK Dons first-team spot amid a bout of Covid, but is now playing regularly again.

"Troy has had to sacrifice himself a little bit for the team at MK Dons," said Kenny.

Parrott has been touted as a prospective Republic of Ireland star since his early teenage years, but his inability to make the breakthrough at Tottenham has seen him have loan periods at Millwall and Ipswich before agreeing a season-long stint with MK Dons.

Kenny added: "You are thinking, 'right, he's got a job to do to make sure he stays in the international squad because this is a little period for him, a little test for him'.

"But he knuckled down and he had about six consecutive matches where he played the full 90 minutes.

"Even though the manager was making three substitutions in the attacking areas, he was the one who was never taken off."