Ross County midfielder Harry Paton keen to prove his worth on the pitch
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Harry Paton is not going to be knocking on doors to ask why he has not started more games for Ross County under John Hughes.
Instead, he would much rather show why he is worthy of a spot in the starting 11 with his performances on the pitch.
The Canadian midfielder was one of the Staggies’ stand-out performers in the first half of the season, with his bags of energy in the middle of the park often a driving force for the side.
However, since playing 90 minutes in the defeat to Motherwell at the end of January, the 22-year-old has started just twice – and he was substituted on both occasions.
Naturally, that was disappointing for Paton, who has also been deployed on the right side of midfield more frequently under Hughes than he would have been expecting.
However, he has no intention of confronting his manager about the change in his playing time, instead hoping to earn his way back into the team through hard work.
“It did come as a tough one for me as I was used to playing and getting minutes in,” Paton admitted.
“It was tough mentally trying to keep the levels up in training as it is frustrating. You want to be on the pitch and affecting the game but whatever minutes I get, I am focused on giving my all for the team.
“I am a big believer in the football speaking for itself and I will keep focused on what I do in training and games.
“I’m not too big on going in and asking why am I not playing, I prefer to show I should be playing by being the best player on the pitch.”
It is not necessarily a new experience for Paton to find himself out of favour.
He had to be patient in the Championship season after moving to Dingwall in 2018, and then had spells in and out of the team in 2019/20.
The frustration, then, comes from a feeling he had been improving and enjoying Premiership life – but that will not affect his application on the pitch.
“When I came here I came off the bench a lot in the Championship, but in the Premiership it felt like a fresh start for me and it was a really good experience for me,” he added.
“I’ve tried to keep my consistency up and keep improving as I went along.
“I’ve been really happy personally. I’ve had a lot of experiences this year and gained a lot of experience but there is still a lot more to come and I need to improve in the final third in terms of assists and goals.
“Whenever the gaffer calls on me I am going to give it 100 per cent whether that’s for 90 minutes or off the bench. He knows what I bring to the team.”
