Scotland defender Nathan Patterson has taken advantage of the international break to catch his manager's eye, according to former Everton hero Michael Ball.
The Everton defender played a starring role during Scotland 's 1-1 draw with Poland last Thursday which left Ball and many of the Tartan Army baffled by his omission at club level.
Steve Clarke opted to start Patterson at Hampden despite the 20-year-old having only played 45 minutes under Frank Lampard since a £12million January move from Rangers.
Ball told the Liverpool Echo : "Nathan Patterson hasn't played much at all apart from 45 minutes against Boreham Wood in the cup, we want to see what this kid's all about.
"I knew a lot about him because of the Rangers connection and the people I spoke to have been bigging this kid up for years."
Patterson made the move from Rangers with rave reviews, although the youngster struggled to oust captain James Tavernier out of the right-back role.
"He’s come to a club where it’s similar to Rangers, in that the club captain is the right-back. So his time has been limited," Ball added.
"But listening to how Frank Lampard’s spoken about him, Nathan is here for the now and he’s here for the future.
"Nathan has come into a new environment.
"The training sessions might be slightly different, he's maybe not used to it and is getting to grips with everything that happens.
"He’s been under three managers in his short stint at the club, so he might not understand the training methods or fully how it works at Everton.
"But when you get thrown into a competitive game, when it really matters, you have a different mindset.
"Playing in the reserves or youth level football is all about rhythm and getting match sharpness. It’s not about putting your body on the line.
"So when he got an opportunity to play for Scotland in an international against Poland, he played 60-70 minutes and was man of the match. That’s against top opposition and that’s where it matters. He’s playing for his country and he’s got the right mindset."
Patterson could have another opportunity to add to his seven caps at international level as Scotland travel to Austria on Tuesday for a dead rubber friendly.
Ball believes Patterson may be one of those players who just relishes the big occasions.
"Maybe Nathan’s one of those players that when it matters, they’re going to perform and he’s going to show what he can do," said Ball.
"He was pushing for games at Rangers and got a move to Everton Football Club so maybe that’s his style and that’s the way he is.
"We’d like to see him because Seamus Coleman, with the age he is, he’s putting in everything he can but at this level when you leave the door half open, the opposition take advantage of that.
"Maybe Frank feels like he doesn’t want to put Nathan in there, in this environment."
