Scotland defender Nathan Patterson believes he has learned from the Covid rule breach which earned him a four-game ban.
Patterson, along with Rangers team-mates Bongani Zungu, Calvin Bassey, Dapo Mebude and Brian Kinnear, were handed the suspensions after a party was broken up by police back in February.
The newly-capped international, who is in Darlington with Scotland preparing for Euro 2020, admits he was worried about the reaction when the news broke.
However, Patterson reckons he has made amends for his mistake and thanked those around him for their support.
He said: “Everyone makes mistakes. That was a clear mistake on my behalf. Obviously I have done well to get to where I am just now. What you do on the pitch shows who you are. I have worked hard on and off the pitch and it’s shown by where I am today.
🔥 Welcome to the squad, @Np4tterson… pic.twitter.com/WdOJKcrmfq
— Scotland National Team (@ScotlandNT) May 28, 2021
“I was at a young age, especially in this era when you have a lot of social media and pressure on you. I had good support especially from Rangers and my family. I have good coaching staff who have stuck behind me and it has stood me in good stead.
“I just got my head down and we all worked through it together. That’s why we are a family – there’s no point in keeping going on about the bad stuff when you can look forward to the good stuff and that’s where I am today.
“Yes, obviously when it all came out it wasn’t a great time and I was obviously worried for myself and for everyone else.
“But the gaffer was great. He just told me straight and said to me: ‘Look, everyone makes mistakes’. He said he’s made mistakes before in his own life but that it’s all about how you bounce back. You just have to make sure it doesn’t happen again.
“I totally agree with him. Obviously I had to go out there and make it up to the fans and I felt as if I did that.”
The Scottish FA came in for criticism from Patterson’s club boss Steven Gerrard, who said they risked damaging the young defender’s career by banning him for the breach.
The 19-year-old insists he has learned from the matter, however, and hopes it can now be put behind him as he looks forward to the Euros with Scotland.
Patterson added: “Absolutely. Look, I’m young. I’m not making that an excuse or a reason for why I did it. I shouldn’t have done it. But I’m moving on now and I’m going to learn from it. I won’t make any more mistakes like that again in my career.
“In a way I’m almost glad that it all happened so early as I can put it behind me and focus on the football now.”