Alex McLeish: Nathan Patterson is destined to become a great player
Alex McLeish believes Nathan Patterson has the potential to hit the top at Rangers after his performance against Royal Antwerp on Thursday.
The 19-year-old was introduced at half-time and made a big impact in getting on the scoresheet.
It was some comeback for the youngster, who had previously grabbed attention for all the wrong reasons when he recently broke Covid-19 protocol.
McLeish was impressed with what he saw, and told Ten10 Podcast, “Patterson looks like a player in the making and it was good he was given his chance.
“Nathan looks like he has the potential to go all the way – and he will make other mistakes along the way, perhaps off the park too.”
Big second chance
It is always nice to see our young players given a chance and Patterson seized his opportunity with both hands.
He was brilliant on Thursday and on top of his goal he barely put a foot wrong.
The right-back completed 100% of his passes according to WhoScored, and ended the game with a rating of 7.7.
At the back he made three tackles and one interception, too, so he should take a lot of confidence from the display.
With James Tavernier out Patterson should get a run of games in the team.
He is more natural at full-back compared to Leon Balogun so should prove that he deserves to be the number one back-up to the Gers skipper.
Gerrard should be impressed by Patterson’s performance, as he displayed not only skill but real determination.
To bounce back from recent events shows he has a tough mindset despite being so young.
That bodes well for his development, and we are encouraged by McLeish speaking so highly of him.
In other Rangers news, Ibrox View: Gerrard experiment over – One Rangers player has night to forget v Antwerp.