IN every life, a little rain must fall, and the same goes for the career of every footballer. So it is that the stratospheric rise of Nathan Patterson has finally stuttered a little, with the full-back struggling to get any sort of look-in at first-team level since making the move from Rangers to Everton.

In fairness, fighting for minutes on the pitch is hardly a novel concept to the 20-year-old, who faced a similar problem when behind James Tavernier at Ibrox, but his appearances in an Everton jersey have taken on a similar scarcity as hen’s teeth.

Indeed, Patterson has played just 45 minutes for the Goodison Park club since his January transfer, being hooked at half-time in the home FA Cup win over lowly Boreham Wood.

It is little wonder then the youngster is relieved to have joined up with his international colleagues this week for some respite from the difficult situation he finds himself in on Merseyside, a break that manager Steve Clarke believes will do him the world of good.

Clarke has no qualms about Patterson playing for his team in the friendly against Poland tonight despite that lack of club action, and has in fact – uncharacteristically - reached out to his player recently to urge him to make the most of his current predicament.

If he keeps his head up, and keeps working hard, Clarke is certain that his talent will do the rest and ensure that he is a success both in the English Premier League and at international level.

“I think he’s happy to be here,” Clarke said.

“It’s a change of scenery for him after a tough time for him at Everton. Listen, he’s there every day, working every day with Premier League players.

“It’s about doing his work properly on the training pitch - and I always say it about players, that if they do their work properly the first game they play after a little while out is not the big issue, it’s probably the recovery and playing again and playing again and playing again. You probably lose a little bit of core fitness.

“So, in terms of Nathan starting one of the two games, it wouldn’t be a big issue for us and it wouldn’t be a big issue for Nathan either.

“I’ve not really had a big chat with him [in this camp]. I’ve had other people who I’ve wanted to speak to before I speak to Nathan but at some stage over this camp we will have a little chat.

“I spoke to him over the telephone a couple of times, which is a little bit unusual for me between camps, because I tend to leave players on their own. But I did have a little chat with Nathan about making sure that even if he wasn’t in the first team he got some minutes on the pitch with his under-23 team which he did do.

“It’s about making sure he’s working hard, even though he’s not getting a chance to start. You can’t let your training standards drop, because when the chance does come, he has to be ready to take that chance.”

Clarke hopes that opportunity will arrive soon, with Everton manager Frank Lampard so far deciding to rely on the experience of Seamus Coleman and former Celtic loanee Jonjoe Kenny at right-back during the club’s battle against relegation.

“He’s just got to be patient,” he said.

“I had a little text conversation with Frank about Nathan when he took over at Everton, and obviously I spoke very well about him. But Frank is in a situation where he has to get points on the board very quickly as they’re under a lot of pressure at Everton. So I understand the situation.

“It was difficult for Nathan as soon as Rafa Benitez lost his job because it was Rafa and the Sporting Director at that time who signed Nathan. So it’s obviously been a little bit difficult for him.

“But it’s all part of growing up, eh? It’s all part of the experience. He’s down there with a good move at a good club.

“He should, between now and the end of the season, hopefully get some minutes on the pitch and that would be good.

“I’m sure when he gets to the end of his career he’ll have played enough football. This moment in time it’s a little bit stop-start.

“But, listen, any time I’ve picked him to play for his country he hasn’t let us down, which is the most important part for me. Any time he comes into the camp he trains well, works well and looks happy to be here.

“That’s very important for us as a national team.”

Clarke feels Patterson may be able to take lessons from the way his fellow great Scottish hope Billy Gilmour has dealt with a difficult spell of his own while out on loan at Norwich, with the resilience having to be shown by the midfielder to prove his own doubters wrong sure to stand him in good stead later in his career.

“It’s just part of their development as players,” he said. “It’s very rare that any player’s career is only an upward trend.

“It’s how you react in the moments of adversity that will determine how long your playing career is going to be.

“I think with Billy it was always the case that he would get back into the team at Norwich. When Dean Smith came in, Dean likes him as a player.

“I’ve seen Billy live a couple of times with Norwich this season and he’s done okay, he’s done well.

“He’s not going to get the big headlines because his team’s not winning every week, it’s always a little negative story around Norwich because they’re struggling at the bottom of the league. But when I’ve actually watched Billy play he’s done well.

“It’s all part of his development as well, he knew going to Norwich he wasn’t going to a team that would dominate the ball for 70 per cent of a game as it is when he plays for Chelsea. He knew it was going to be a different part of his learning curve and that’s what it is.

“Billy has to take the most from the situation.”