NAT’S THE WAY TO DO IT, JUST LIKE HUTTON
STEVEN NAISMITH says Nathan Patterson can do an Alan Hutton and come out of cold storage and star for Scotland.
The Scotland coach revealed Patterson has an outside chance of featuring in the World Cup clash with Ukraine as he battles back to fitness following ankle surgery.
The former Rangers defender hasn’t kicked a ball since the friendly double header with Poland and Austria in March after struggling to break in to the Everton first team and then getting crocked.
But Patterson, taking part in light training, won’t be written off for Wednesday and Naismith reckons there are shades of his old Scotland and Rangers pal Hutton – who could shine for the Scots even when he was frozen out at Aston Villa.
He said: “One hundred per cent it’s in him. Even when he was at Rangers he didn’t play too many games so from that side of it he has that natural fitness.
“In that sense I see him like Alan Hutton, who went through periods in his Scotland career where he didn’t play a lot of football.
“He was out of the picture at Villa for a long time but he still came and performed, and performed very well.
“If Nathan is fit and in the starting XI you’re not worried at any point if he is going to play well or not, he has that natural youth and enthusiasm. And how big this game is, he’ll easily manage to perform.”
Naismith reckons Patterson even plays like his old Ibrox pal. He said: “There’s a lot of similarities with Hutton, I definitely think so.
“He’s very rangy, he’s comfortable going forward, he’s as much of an attacker as he is a defender.
“He’s a guy on that upward trajectory. I know from speaking to him getting injured at Everton at that time was a killer for him.
“He was potentially going to get his chance there, he had been playing well for Scotland.
“He’s done all he can to be here, again it just shows you the belief the players in the squad have got that they can progress.”
Patterson will be given every chance to prove his fitness and Naismith said: “He’s got a chance because he has been on the pitch.
“The next two days will be more important for him in terms of seeing where exactly he is at.
“From what has been done so far you’re not going to really get an idea. He’s going to turn up and be buzzing to be involved and the first few days he gets out there and it’s all great.
“It’s then how he recovers and how he feels and that will determine whether he’ll be involved or not.”