Town boss Paul Lambert has been delighted with the way front pairing James Norwood and Troy Parrott have combined in their first few games playing alongside one another and believes there’s a lot more to come from both of them.
Norwood put in probably his best all-round display for the Blues as he scored the winning goal at Hull City on Tuesday, his fourth strike of the season, injuries having impacted upon his form and availability since joining the club from Tranmere on a free transfer in the summer of 2019.
The 30-year-old played just over 80 minutes of the 0-0 draw with Oxford and the 1-0 win at Hull, Lambert having previously been limiting him to 45 to 60 minutes after an in-and-out spell due to a troublesome hamstring.
Is the former England C international now getting to the point where he’s fully fit or does he still have to be treated with kid gloves?
"He’s feeling better I guess with every single day that passes and he trains,” Lambert said. "That’s the big thing. Sustaining training will help him for Saturday.
"I think he played 80-odd minutes the other night which is probably the longest he’s played in a number of months.
"Tuesday night, he led the line great, proper centre forward play from him and he has to maintain that level of performance. His work-rate and everything you want for a number nine, he had that the other night.”
Lambert believes that Norwood’s best in a Town shirt is still to come: "You’d hope so, that he can keep performing like he did on Tuesday night because on Tuesday night he was everything you want from a number nine. He was holding it up, he was running in behind, he got his goal, he was a threat the whole game.
"As long as he doesn’t rest on it and he can keep doing it week in, week out, I think that’s when he will start to get everyone’s attention with how he goes. We’ve certainly missed that presence of his up there when he’s been out injured. If he can sustain that then let’s see where he goes.”
In the last two games Norwood has been partnered by Parrott with the 19-year-old, who is on loan from Tottenham for the remainder of the season, playing behind him in a number 10 role. Lambert has been thoroughly impressed by the twice-capped Republic of Ireland international.
"As I said the other night, I’ve got my own thoughts on Troy, the way he is as a player and as a young guy. He’s been different class since he’s been here,” he said.
"You can tell he’s at a club like Tottenham, his touch and his awareness, his navigation round and about the pitch and his awareness of what’s around about him is very, very good.
"And his work-rate, that should always be there anyway, your work-rate should always be there, but that kid’s has been great. I look forward to seeing where he is in the next few years because of the way he plays the game.”
Parrott is still to score his first senior goal having now made 17 starts and eight sub appearances for Town, Millwall, who he was on loan with in the first half of the season, Tottenham’s first team and Ireland.
"He’s getting chances, that’s the thing,” Lambert said. "He’s making chances. The lad’s a really, really good, intelligent footballer and I’ve been really happy with how he’s settled in.
"If he gets a goal, great, but if he keeps playing the way he’s playing and we keep winning, that’s more important.”
Parrott himself recently said that his creation of goals was probably more important than scoring them.
"He’s a really clever player, he gets into good spaces where nobody can pick him up and I think his football intelligence is really high,” Lambert continued. "There’s no problem there.
"I think he can put people in, I think he can score if he gets the chance but he’s an intelligent footballer for someone as young as he is, he’s only 19.
"That’s why I think he will have a big career in front of him. He’ll get stronger and he’ll develop and if can keep that up, that work-rate and that demand of it, then you’ve got a really good player on your hands.”