Ally McCoist leaves Chris Sutton in stitches over claim about Rangers player on BT Sport
Chris Sutton was left in stitches when Ally McCoist claimed Nathan Patterson only has to match James Tavernier’s goalscoring record to nail down the Rangers right-back spot.
Tavernier, 29, has been in phenomenal form for the Light Blues this season with the right-back scoring 16 goals in 26 appearances across all competitions.
No player has scored more goals than him in the Scottish Premiership and as a reward for his hard work, Steven Gerrard opted to rest him from the off against Lech Poznan on Thursday.
Patterson, 19, stepped into the starting line-up on Thursday when Rangers beat Lech Poznan 2-0 in Poland to finish first in their Europa League group.
The Scotland Under-21 right-back impressed but ahead of the game, McCoist joked about the lengths he’d have to go to in order to secure that starting spot.
“In that position, all he’s got to do is score a couple of goals down that right-wing if he’s got to follow Tavernier,” joked McCoist ahead of kick-off on BT Sport 3, leaving Chris Sutton laughing. “It’s not as if he’s got a hard act to follow.
When asked if Tavernier needed a rest, McCoist added: “Absolutely. I was tired watching him. [He’s been] absolutely fantastic so far this season.
“In all seriousness, it’s great for young Nathan to get an opportunity
“We’ve seen bits and pieces of him. He won’t look out of place and he’s deserving of his opportunity.”
Patterson impressive but still nowhere near Tav
Patterson would have had to do something special against Lech Poznan to make Gerrard even consider dropping Tavernier in favour of the Scotland youth international.
Although the teenager did well, we don’t expect to see him back in the starting line-up any time soon.
Tavernier deserved that break against Poznan, although he did come on to replace Patterson in the second half to help see out the game.
It was a bit of a strange move by Gerrard but you could understand why he did it because Poznan were getting into the game and were attacking down Patterson’s side quite regularly.
Rangers now have six matches to play in the rest of December before playing Celtic in the Old Firm derby on January 2.
Those six games sees them play Dundee United, St Mirren in the League Cup, Motherwell, St Johnstone, Hibernian and St Mirren again.
With winning the league a priority, you would not expect Tavernier to miss any Scottish Premiership matches.
Patterson could start against St Mirren in the League Cup quarter-final next Wednesday but with the Gers potentially two matches away from a piece of silverware, is that a chance the manager is likely to take?
In other Rangers news, Alex Rae delivered his thoughts on Patterson’s overall display against Lech.