Rangers managed to escape Prague with a 1-1 draw against Slavia Prague in the first leg of their Europa League last 16 tie.
The result leaves Rangers with a massive opportunity to complete the job at Ibrox next week and progress to the quarter-finals of the competition.
In the absence of the injured James Tavernier, Patterson caught the eye with his performance at right-back and earned the praise of his manager.
Gerrard stressed that the young defender symbolised the emotional week Rangers experienced and he believes the youngster showed his maturity with his performance on a big European night.
The Rangers boss insisted that he is going to get more opportunities going forward with Rangers after that performance.
“What you’ve got to take into consideration is everyone connected to the club has had a real emotional week”, Gerrard told BT Sport post match.
“So with what they gave the game in terms of effort and application, I’m so proud of the players.
“Nathan epitomised that, I thought he was really strong.
“He became a man tonight I think, and there will be plenty more appearances for him, for us moving forward after his suspension is done.
“Really pleased for him.”
Patterson is highly regarded at Ibrox, but has found playing time hard to come by with Tavernier a certain starter when fit.
