Scotland manager Steve Clarke has shared his delight at the performance of Nathan Patterson in Thursday's friendly with Poland.
The Everton right-back was handed a start for his national side despite struggling for minutes on Merseyside and he was one of the standout players on the pitch in the 67 minutes he featured. The former Rangers man showed speed, dribbling skill and defensive appetite in his role on the right flank.
They are attributes those who frequent Goodison Park have not yet savoured to any great extent, with the youngster playing just 45 minutes of football since moving from Rangers in January. That despite the struggles of Seamus Coleman and Jonjoe Kenny in the full-back spots.
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Speaking after the 1-1 draw with Poland, Clarke said he was pleased with the way Patterson performed and that he never expected the lack of football to be a major issue for him in a Scotland jersey, per the Daily Record.
"I had no worries about Nathan, none whatsoever," he said. "I know the level he has gone down to train in and even just training at that level, working with English Premier League players, it’s a good level.
"As long as he’s doing his work properly on the training pitch then he’ll always have enough in his legs to come and play for us. I saw him stretching and when he starts to stretch you don’t want to risk an injury for the boy so we took him off.
"But his performance was really good for a boy who has had so little football."
Scotland are in action again on Tuesday in a friendly against Austria and another strong performance from Patterson would no doubt provide Toffees boss Frank Lampard with more food for thought.
