Frank Lampard tease as player that 'oozes' Coventry City passion waits for debut
There was plenty of interest and excitement when it emerged early last month that Jamie Paterson was training with his hometown club Coventry City.
The anticipation ramped up several notches when Frank Lampard spoke in glowing terms about the 33-year-old free agent, revealing how impressive he’d been in training as well as his influence in the dressing room – all of which pointed to the inevitable outcome last Friday when the former Bristol City and Swansea forward put pen to paper on a short-term contract until the end of the season.
As well as plenty of attacking quality and experience at the level - Paterson able to play anywhere across the front four or five - the Sky Blues head coach also likes the romance of the union of a Cov Kid and his passion to play for the team he supported growing up in the city.
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The player’s international clearance came through on Friday afternoon, just in time for him to travel with the squad to Sheffield and be named in the matchday 20 at Hillsborough. But after all the build-up he was an unused sub on the day as City ground out what felt like an unlikely 2-1 away win from a really tough match.
So, having missed out on that much anticipated debut, is the script now set for Paterson to make his bow – most likely from the bench – on home soil at the CBS Arena on Saturday against Preston in front of what is expected to be a really warm welcome from the fans?
“Yeah, maybe,” teased Lampard, who knows the value of a local lad playing for his hometown club.
“I thought Jamie’s social media launch on Friday was fantastic, to see the story of him as a young Coventry City fan. It oozes out of him, actually, when you see him in training, and it’s a really good feeling to have someone with that passion playing for us, and that debut will certainly come.”
