The former Ibrox striker, who now works for Rangers as an ambassador, spoke to the 23-year-old while he was attending a matchday.

Naderi has since scored a number of goals, with Hateley saying the Czech international appears to have responded to their conversation.

Hateley said: "I had a quick chat with Naderi when he was injured and he was at a matchday. I had a quick chat with him about what he wanted and how he wanted to get there. I won’t tell you what I said to him, but he seems to have hit the right strides. He’s doing remarkably well and he’s scoring a lot of goals."

Hateley believes Naderi’s willingness to work is central to his progress. He also sees similarities between the young forward and himself.

Hateley said: "He must be a joy to work with. He does all the hard stuff. He does all the hard running, he runs in behind and does the hard yards. When you have talent, that can probably be the one thing that is lacking. It’s whether you want to work hard when you’re already a good player. He has that as a natural ability."

The former England international said Naderi is suited to a central role, even though he had previously played on the wing.

Hateley said: "I look at him and I see him right through the middle of the park, as I did even when he was playing on the wing. He is a centre-forward, playing through the middle and causing chaos.

"Basically, I see a lot of myself in him when I was a youngster. Then I had things added to my game, which can easily be done with a young boy. I’m really, really pleased for him. You do the hard yards and you get the rewards."

Hateley joined Rangers later in his career, after spells with clubs including AC Milan and Monaco. Naderi is still developing after moving from the third division in Germany.

Hateley said: "It was the other end of my career when I came here. I was nearly the finished article. He’s here as a starter. This is a starting block for him. He was playing in the third division in Germany and came here. I thought he was a standout against England at Wembley."

He said Naderi’s international appearance had increased attention on him.

Hateley said: "I thought he did all the things he needed to do well. As soon as you go onto that international stage, the focus on a player goes from being very narrow to suddenly everybody watching him.

"Everybody is watching him right now, as they will do. Everybody wants a centre-forward. Everybody wants a 6ft 6in striker, or whatever he is, who can run, hold the ball up and score goals. That’s where we are right now."

Hateley believes manager Derek McInnes may face a challenge keeping Naderi at Rangers.

Hateley said: "In terms of his progress, it will be difficult going forward because that’s the market.

"If he wants to be the player he wants to be, then Derek has a lot of hard work to do with him and to keep him at the football club, because I think he could be a massive part of it going forward."