Everton: Pundit blasts pile on of ‘excellent’ Nathan Patterson after Scotland ‘stinker’
Tam McManus has ridden to the defence of “excellent” Everton defender Nathan Patterson after the “stinker” he had playing for Scotland.
The former Hibs player said on Twitter on 27 March that the Toffees full-back is suffering from a lack of confidence and involvement at his club but branded some criticism following the 1-0 defeat to Northern Ireland the night before “a nonsense”.
Patterson, 22, hasn’t played for Sean Dyche in two months, and was reportedly involved in an awkward physical altercation with the manager at the recent Portuguese training camp.
In response to a claim that the full-back needs to leave Goodison but the pile on was over the top McManus wrote: “Kinda agree with this. Patterson is an excellent footballer who is lacking in confidence & game time at Everton.
“He was poor tbh and had a bit of a stinker but so did most of the Scotland team on the night. Some of the comments are a nonsense.”
Has Rangers exit to Everton not worked out?
Things seem to be going from bad to worse currently for the unfortunate defender, and it could be a vicious cycle if he is struggling for games because he is out of form and has also lost confidence to perform because he doesn’t play.
He has at times had decent runs in the Everton side since his £16million transfer from Rangers in January 2022 [Sky Sports] but Dyche has never seemed particularly convinced by him.
It can’t be an overly encouraging sign that he has been dropped to fourth choice at Goodison when the options ahead of him are a natural centre-back in Ben Godfrey, an aging Seamus Coleman who has returned from a serious injury, and a man who is old enough to be his father in 38-year-old Ashley Young.
Which all might be why he seemingly didn’t appreciate the accidental embarrassment his manager caused him in Portugal.
In the circumstances, assuming Dyche remains at the club for significantly longer than his two predecessors in Frank Lampard and Rafa Benitez, it looks like it might be necessary for Patterson to seek a move.
But if he isn’t playing for his club and then strugges for his country in the rare run out he does get there is unlikely to be a huge market for him, and certainly not for Everton to make their money back.
In other Everton news, The Esk has issued an “extraordinary” takeover verdict after the Premier League’s letter to 777.
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