AGED just 18, Nathan Patterson is adjusting to life as a permanent member of Steven Gerrard’s first-team Rangers squad.
The talented Academy product took a full part in pre-season under the eye of Gerrard, and has been in every matchday pool of 20 named by the manager so far competitively in this campaign.
Indeed, he was handed an opportunity against a multi-talented Bayer Leverkusen side from the bench by Gerrard – demonstrating the regard he is held in by the coaching staff.
A fan from birth, Patterson has a terrific understanding of what it means to be a Ranger, even noting fellow full-back, the late, great Sandy Jardine as one of his idols.
He told RangersTV: “I have been here for 10 years now, and you strive to get to the first-team as early as you can.
“I am in and around it now at 18, and getting those opportunities at this age is great – it’s a great experience for me and it’s great to play against players like that.
“It has put me in a good stead for the rest of the season and hopefully my career.
“When you are a Rangers player, you have high expectations on you, no matter who you are or what age you are.
“You are expected to go on and play well. There is an expectation from the fans and you need to live up to that.
“I have been here for 10 years and been through the full Academy, and watched players come through and progress and that has just boosted me to make me want to be one of them as well.
“It’s great as this is the club I love.”
One of Patterson’s standout attributes is his humility. He’s a lad who very much appreciates every opportunity given to him having worked so hard to get to where he is now.
He continued: “It’s great to mix with the boys, but sometimes you just need to keep yourself to yourself and do the work you need to do.
“That gets you in a good place and I think that is what has got me to where I am today. It comes from my family – my mum and dad have always kept me grounded.
“Even when I’ve done well, they have told me just to brush it by and keep going on and keep trying to progress.
“Every day I come in, keep my head down and work as hard as I can. I train well every day and hopefully that puts me in good stead so when I get that opportunity, I am ready.”
In front of Patterson at the moment is club captain, James Tavernier. This is now Tavernier’s sixth season at Gers having joined back in 2015.
Going to games at Ibrox as he did, Tavernier is someone who’s game Patterson has studied at length, and he explained: “He’s been at the club for a while now – I’m a fan so I have watched all the games. He is someone who I try to take things from his game and put them into mine.
“He has been great with me – he has been speaking to me and he has been helping me and it has benefited me.”
Patterson’s age means he has grown up through some of the toughest times in the club’s history – and being a part of the team which brings silverware back to Ibrox would mean absolutely everything to him.
He added: “This is such a big club and seeing them have to work their way back up to the top – it has been tough, but being a part of the first-team now, hopefully I can be a part of a successful team.”
WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW HERE
Rangers TV Monthly - Standard (£6) - Join now to watch exclusive RangersTV content. (Excluding Live Video, Including Live Audio)
Rangers TV Annual - Standard (£60) - Join now to watch exclusive RangersTV content. (Excluding Live Video, Including Live Audio)
CLICK to subscribe to our official YouTube channel and never miss another trailer: HERE