There was a time - not all that long ago - when Nathan Patterson ’s move to Everton was shaping up as potential misstep of monumental proportions.
Signed by a terminally beleaguered boss in Rafa Benitez who was just days away from being sacked and chased out of Goodison, Patterson found himself left on the fringes of Frank Lampard’s big rebuild to such an extent he was in danger of becoming the forgotten £11million man. Not a kick of first team action until March. Then hauled off after 45 minutes of his debut in the FA Cup against Boreham Wood.
Patterson had swapped a seat on the bench at Ibrox for one in the stand on Merseyside. It was only when he turned up for duty with the national side for friendlies against Poland and Austria that Patterson was pulled out of this downward spiral - and showed Lampard what he had been missing all along.
Fast forward six months and Patterson is proving such a huge hit in the Premier League that Everton ’s fans have even given him his own song. And he’ll be nailed on as Steve Clarke’s first choice right back for three crunch Nations League games in the space of six days.
But the Scotland boss declines to take any credit for his part in Patterson’s meteoric rise. When asked if he has taken any kind of personal satisfaction for the dramatic turnaround in Patterson’s fortune, Clarke almost blushed as he said: “Not really. It is more for Nathan to take that satisfaction.
“He did not sulk, he did not lose faith in himself. He kept running away, working away. Even when he was at Rangers he was probably playing as many times for Scotland as he was for Rangers at that particular time because of the situation he found himself in with James Tavernier, the Rangers captain.
“He found it difficult there. He just kept his head down, worked hard, did great for Scotland and now he is doing very well for Everton as well. Hopefully that will continue. A lot of it comes down to confidence. He’s had a chance to play - the chance to show what he’s about.
“He is a good character. Since I got him into the squad I have always liked his character, I like the way he conducts himself. I like his attitude towards football. It reminds me of somebody not sitting too far away from here....”
Clarke’s blushing again. He stops just short of giving himself a name check here even though he too made a name for himself as a right back in England’s top flight. He nodded: “Exactly! I see similarities that I like.”
Perhaps that’s why he felt compelled to pick up the phone to Lampard and plead Patterson’s case. He went on: “Obviously I worked with him at Chelsea so I know Frank quite well. We did have a little chat about it.
“About that time he was phoning up to say, ‘What do you think?’ I said, ‘If you have the boy a chance to play he will do well for you’. But I am not going to take any credit for that. Nathan takes all the credit.”
But while Patterson is thriving, there are other anglos in Clarke’s squad who have endured a difficult start to the new campaign. John McGinn, for example, is struggling for form after being handed the armband at Aston Villa. Scott McTominay is only just coming through the other side of a similarly turbulent time at Manchester United.
And Billy Gilmour has only played one minute of football since leaving Chelsea for Brighton. Only to find his new manager heading the opposite way. Clarke said: “It would be fantastic if they were all coming in a great frame of mind, but I don’t think you are going to have that situation where everybody comes in a good frame of mind.
“What you have to do is try and balance off the ones who are maybe having a tough time at their clubs at this particular moment with the ones who are having a good time and try and find the balance. But, yeah, obviously it is better if they all come with a smile on their faces and a spring in their step, but that is not always the case.”
A win against Ukraine tonight would not only lift the general mood but also catapult Scotland back into pole position in this latest Nations League campaign.
It also offers a chance for Clarke and his players to avenge the World Cup play-off defeat against Ukraine, which came about in the most uncomfortable of circumstances back at the outset of Russia’s invasion.
Clarke said: “The last game was a really unique situation where nobody sort of knew what to expect. I don’t think they caught us cold, but it was a unique game. It was a game that didn’t suit us, it suited them.
“We didn’t play as well as we can play. The only thing we can do to address that is play better this time. If we play better and Ukraine play to their level then let’s see what the outcome is.
“It was just a build-up that didn’t suit us – for various reasons. Some players finished in the first week in May, some in the second week. We didn’t have any continuity going into the camp. We didn’t play to our level and if you don’t play to your level then normally you get beaten. This time, we have to play to our level.’
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