Nathan Patterson makes defiant Everton vow after honest playing time admission
Everton's Nathan Patterson insists he is no quitter after admitting he's not getting as much playing time as he would like
Everton’s Nathan Patterson admits that he’s not getting as much game time as he would like but insists he’s no quitter.
Patterson was Rangers’ record sale at the time when he joined Everton for £11million plus add ons in January 2022. But he has played just nine minutes off the bench at Fulham on January 30 in the Blues’ last eight Premier League matches.
During that period, manager Sean Dyche has preferred to pick natural centre-back Ben Godfrey at right-back and in Everton’s last game against Manchester United at Old Trafford, Patterson – along with Seamus Coleman (who played the full 180 minutes in the Republic of Ireland's two games in the current international break against Belgium and Switzerland) and Ashley Young – was one of three recognised right-backs among the substitutes.
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Asked before Scotland’s friendly against Northern Ireland on Tuesday night whether this has this been one of the most-challenging periods of his career, Patterson told Viaplay Sports: “Yes, you could say so. Obviously I’m not playing as much as I would like to play but sometimes that’s just football and I’m not the type of person that will just give up.
“I’ll keep training hard and working hard and try and make sure I give myself the best opportunity to get game time. Obviously I came away here and played Friday night and will hopefully get more game time on Tuesday.”
Patterson hailed the faith shown in him by Scotland national team manager Steve Clarke as a positive influence. However, the 22-year-old gave the ball away twice in the build-up to Northern Ireland scoring the only goal of the game at Hampden Park, first when his loose first touch fell to Brodie Spencer and then after he’d chased back to dispossess the Huddersfield Town man, his attempted short pass fell straight to the feet of Liverpool’s Conor Bradley, who despatched the match-winner.
Patterson said: “It gives you the confidence knowing that the gaffer has got the backing of you and trusts you. It’s massive for your confidence and you just want to go out and repay him with a good performance.
“The last Euros was my first camp so it was a new experience for me. I was just really looking forward to take everything in and I’ve done that. I feel as if I’ve matured as a player and as a person as well so this time I’m looking forward to it again.
“Hopefully I can play more games and hopefully we can make it through the group and make it a better experience than last time.”