Gary McAllister believes Nathan Patterson can have a long future at Ibrox, as the Rangers defender is constantly improving with the hard work he puts in, via the Daily Record.
Steven Gerrard’s right-hand man has praised Patterson for reaping the rewards of his work in training. Noting that Patterson has shown in recent weeks a greater end product in the final-third, having worked on his deliveries.
Patterson registered his first assist of the season so far as Rangers beat Hibernian 2-1 prior to the international break. The 19-year-old delivered a floating ball into the box for Kemar Roofe to draw the Gers level on the hour.
Gerrard rotated Patterson into the Rangers line-up against Hibs to afford James Tavernier a rest. The Glasgow-born gem had not featured in the Premiership this term before facing Jack Ross’ side. Playing his sole action in the League Cup and Europa League qualifiers.
McAllister backs Patterson to continue improving and become a key man for Rangers and Scotland in the years to come. Believing he has the tools to keep getting better and better.
“He keeps improving and improving,” McAllister said. “We feel we’ve got a player who can play a long time for Rangers. But also a player who can represent his country for a long period, as well. He’ll just keep getting better.
“He’s just got to keep taking on board the information from the manager and the coaches at Rangers, and his development will make him better and better. He’s working a lot on the quality of his deliveries in the final-third and in the last couple of games, from all that hard work, he’s got results.”
Can Patterson replace Tavernier at Rangers in the long-term?
Gerrard is confident Patterson has the ability to replace Tavernier at Rangers in rotation at present. But the teenager will have eyes on eventually replacing the Gers captain full-time in the long-term.
If Patterson keeps developing as McAllister believes is possible, then he could prove to be Rangers and Scotland’s future star. His early efforts have shown promise, and reportedly attracted transfer interest from English sides like Everton in his potential.
The £4.9k-a-week full-back now needs to deliver consistently to earn more consistent minutes. Having so far only started back-to-back games in the League Cup this season.
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