A STAR IN THE MAKING
Patterson praised by Gerrard who sees the teenager as a future Scotland right-back
AT THE age of 19, a formative week in the footballing career of Nathan Patterson lies ahead. Tonight comes an opportunity to help Rangers advance to the last eight of European competition.
On Sunday, a first start in an Old Firm game against Celtic at Parkhead awaits.
Next Thursday, an SFA disciplinary hearing will decide if his breakthrough season should be curtailed by suspension after he and four Rangers team-mates were charged with breaching Covid-19 protocols at a recent Glasgow party.
In one sense, the SFA have already done the youngster a favour. Rangers captain and first-choice right-back James Tavernier was injured days after news of the gathering in Glasgow’s west end emerged. A quick Notice of Complaint could have closed the window of opportunity in Patterson’s face.
Instead, he has used the five-week delay to showcase his talents, with his level of performance high enough to prompt calls for Steve Clarke to promote the teenager to Scotland’s senior squad for the World Cup qualifiers with Austria, Israel and Faroe Islands. Calls which Clarke ultimately resisted.
Reluctant to push a young player too far, too fast, Gerrard preaches caution. The Rangers manager expects Patterson to establish himself as Scotland’s first-choice right-back for years to come, but admits he’s not there yet.
‘he’s very level-headed,’ said Gerrard. ‘he’s obviously made a couple of mistakes along the way which is quite human for lads of that age, we’ve all been there.
‘But he comes from a fantastic family, he’s really grounded and really humble.
‘he’s a fantastic player with loads of talent but I think the family and the player know that there is still a lot of work to do in terms of where we want to get him to and his development. That’s both on and off the pitch.
‘No one is in a rush here, everyone trusts what we’re doing and Steve Clarke trusts that. We also trust Steve in terms of doing the right thing by the kid.
‘All Nathan needs to do is keep being the best version of himself and I’m sure international recognition will not be too far away. he’s already in the system with Scotland’s Under-17s, 18s, 19s, 20s and 21s. They’ve all done a fantastic job with him as well.
‘There is a lot of work going on behind the scenes to try and move him in the right direction. But there is no getting away from it, Scotland have got a talent here who will represent the country one day. And if he keeps showing the hunger and the consistency that he has done of late then there’s no reason why he can’t stay there for some time.’
Were Patterson a central midfielder or a left-back, the clamour for his Scotland promotion would have been easy to ignore. Right-back is a position which has caused more problems for Scotland managers in recent years than any other. For Clarke, the temptation to pitch him in must have been strong.
‘Nathan is certainly a name that we discussed,’ said Gerrard. ‘I think I can give you that.
‘Steve will obviously be really sensible, like we will, in terms of managing Nathan.
‘he’s still really raw and needs a lot of work. We’re obviously both aware of that — but at some point I’ve got every confidence he will become part of that (Scotland) set-up.
‘But certainly from Steve’s point of view and my point of view, there’s no rush on that.
‘Nathan has had a good, strong few weeks in terms of announcing himself at this level. he’s obviously got a big four or five days coming up, the kid.’
his progress has been helped, rather than blocked, by the guidance of a Rangers captain in the same position.
Gerrard continued: ‘James (Tavernier) knows that eventually, in years to come, Nathan will take the baton off him.
‘But it is a fantastic place for me to be in to have one right-back who is really experienced, a captain who is probably up there in terms of grabbing Player of the Year.
‘And we have a new kid on the block who is raw and needs support now and development.
‘That’s where we wanted to be at the beginning of the season and it’s the reason we moved certain individuals on.
‘We want two experienced full-backs and two that are available to play and come in when those players need a rest or are unavailable to us.
‘I am really happy with the four full-backs that we’ve got.’
Slavia Prague stand between Rangers and a place in the last eight of the Europa League tonight. The Czech champions appeared to target Patterson in the early stages of a 1-1 draw in the first leg. Like his team-mates, the teenager came on to a game after a shaky start.
Brendan Rodgers’ Leicester City also drew in Prague before losing 2-0 at home in the last 32.
To avoid the same fate, Gerrard wants his team to start aggressively tonight and continue in the same vein.
‘To come up against a team at this stage of the competition, you have got to have respect in both legs,’ said Gerrard. ‘We have played against this team now for 90 minutes and, if anything, we have only got even more respect for them now because you could see quite clearly that they play at a really high intensity, they have got good players that can hurt you if you give them time and space and they are a very fit, powerful team. ‘They are almost German-like in terms of how they go about it. ‘We are under no illusions and we have got nothing but respect for this team, but we have got no fear as well. We are a team that are here because we deserve to be here, we are a good team and have got international players ourselves.
‘We have a really strong home record and everyone is looking forward to this game with excitement and belief. If we find our level and our best, we believe it could be enough.
‘We have watched the Leicester game, it was a fantastic result for them to go there and get a result. With the form they are in and the manager they have got, that is a big achievement, but this is a different game and Ibrox is different. We want to give this game everything we have got.’