Alan Hutton: Big battle between Tavernier and Patterson for Rangers right-back role next season
Alan Hutton expects to see a close battle between James Tavernier and Nathan Patterson for the Rangers right-back berth next season.
Tavernier was the standout star in the first-half of the campaign as his goals and assists helped to inspire Gers to a sensational start to the season but he has missed the last five games after hobbling off injured v Royal Antwerp on February 18.
Despite being caught up in the ‘Rangers Five’ scandal earlier this year Patterson has fought back to earn a spot in the starting XI for the last three games and he has stepped up admirably to cover for his captain.
As reported on the Scottish Sun website Hutton thinks the duo are in direct competition now.
“When it does come down to it, they are both fighting for the same place,” he said.
“It’s going to be a good battle between them next season because Patterson now has a taste for it and he’ll want more.”
He added: “But these two are going to have to battle it out.
“The problem for Patterson is Tavernier has been absolutely exceptional this season and a real standout. His numbers are incredible.”
Tight encounter
No player in the Premiership has laid on more assists than Tavernier [nine] this season while only strikers Odsonne Edouard and Kevin Nisbet have scored more goals than the full-back [11] despite missing the last three domestic fixtures.
But there are areas where he is trumped by Patterson.
According to Wyscout Tav has a 54.7% duel success which jumps to 66.9% for defensive ones while completing 58.9% of his attempted dribbles.
Meanwhile Patterson has won 63.4% of his duels with a 72.1% success rate for defensive duels
He also beats his captain in dribbling with 63.4% completion rate while he makes more recoveries [9.05] than Tav’s 8.14 recoveries.
So while the Gers captain is having a huge direct impact on proceedings with goals and assists Patterson is showing he has a more all-round game.
Of course these statistics are skewed somewhat by the fact Patterson has played a fraction of Tav’s games but his all-action approach is certainly something to keep an eye on and if he keeps it up Tavernier may well be left fearing for his first-team place.
It is a great problem for Steven Gerrard to have.
In other Rangers news, Derek Ferguson calls on club to reward standout star with new deal.