NATHAN Patterson has insisted he can cope with the pressure of playing for Scotland at Euro 2020 after featuring in massive Old Firm and European matches for Rangers this season if selected by Steve Clarke - and can perform the right wing-back role.
Patterson, the 19-year-old who only played in 14 first team games for the Ibrox club this season, was a surprising inclusion in the 26-man national squad for the finals when it was announced last month.
However, many members of the Tartan Army would like to see manager Clarke name the pacy and physical youngster in his starting line-up for the Group D matches against the Czech Republic, England and Croatia.
Speaking from Scotland’s training base in the north-east of England yesterday, the 6ft defender, who made his international debut in the pre-tournament friendly against Luxembourg on Sunday, admitted he is desperate to be involved.
Patterson is confident he will not be overawed if he gets picked due to his experiences with the Scottish champions in the 2020/21 campaign and will be able to slot seamlessly into the 3-5-2 formation that Clarke often favours.
“It is a dream come true and you just want to keep going on, working hard and trying to fight for a spot,” said the player who scored a superb individual goal in the Europa League last 32 match against Royal Antwerp back in February.
“I am just concentrating on my football. Every day in training I work hard to try and catch the manager’s eye. I just train my hardest and wait for any opportunity that comes my way.
“I am not really on social media or searching things up because sometimes social media can be bad. I just keep my head down, train hard and hope from that I get my opportunity on the pitch.
“In your career you always want to keep pushing and keep pushing. You never reach your peak. Obviously I’m doing really well just now, but I just want to keep driving on, keep pushing, keep doing what I’m doing to get to the next level, keep my standards high. If I can do all that then I can push further on.”
Patterson added: “I think I’ve shown I can do well under pressure in Old Firms and Europa League. Especially when it’s cup ties and we’ve needed to win the games. I’ve shown the gaffer that he can trust me.
“At Rangers youth I did it (play wing-back) a few times. But with the way we play at Rangers I’m basically a wing-back. So I’m kind of used to it. It’s not something I’m unaware of.”
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