The international break is a huge moment for the players who aren’t away on duty to catch Frank Lampard’s eye - but there are also several players that the fans have wanted to see more of.
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.
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. But listening to how Frank Lampard’s spoken about him, Nathan is here for the now and he’s here for the future.
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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.
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. 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, 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.
I disagree. Youngsters can challenge everything. I had to do it, Danny Cadamarteri had to do it. There’s so many youngsters that just come in and they're like a breath of fresh air.
They’ve got nothing on their shoulders. They're just going to go out and express themselves. They’ve got no fear of the opposition, they’re just going to go out and be the player that got themselves that opportunity in the first place.
It surprises the opposition because they don’t know what to expect but it also gives the senior pros a kick up the backside. Maybe they’ve forgotten how to have that extra half a yard or composure on the ball when it’s needed. Then the senior players need to step up.
That breath of fresh air, that desire, that extra running. The commitment and bravery from the youngsters can also give the fans a lift. The fans want them to express themselves but also have the balance of the older players.
Yes, we’re in a bad situation but when I was coming through, we were in a much worse situation. If youngsters have a poor game, it’s not going to define their career. They just want to play football and play how they’ve always played. The club came out and bought Nathan because of what they’ve seen and the ability that he’s got.
It does take time for players to sometimes settle down. But I just hope we can start seeing a bit more of Nathan. He obviously said after the Scotland game that he hoped Frank Lampard was watching - but he hoped everybody was watching.
That’s what football is all about, to go out there, express yourself, and enjoy it. That’s what he wants and he’s chomping at the bit. We are in a difficult time at the football club right now. Maybe there’s a concern over throwing him into the situation that we’re in..
But I beg to differ on that. There’s games to go, games to win and there’s opportunities there to get minutes under the belt. It could help us but also gives big question marks to the opposition because they don’t know how they’re going to cope with him. I feel that could be the way forward for us.
