The Thistle Archive

A product of the Scottish Highland Football League, Scott began his professional career as a midfielder with his local senior club, Cove Rangers of the Scottish Highland Football League before winning a £15,000 move to Graeme Souness's Liverpool in March 1992. It was there that coach Sammy Lee converted him to a defender! After two full seasons at Anfield but no first team appearances, he spent four years with Bristol City, from where he was loaned to Cardiff City in 1997. He then embarked on a series of moves around Britain which saw him spend no more than a season at any one club. After being freed by Carlisle United in the summer of 1999, Scott returned home and signed a short-term contract with Huntly, where his older brother, Andy, was centre half at the time. Cambridge manager Roy McFarland brought him south again for a trial and, after starring in a 2-2 draw versus Gillingham, offered him another short-term deal.

In January 2000, Scott made the move to Plymouth Argyle where he stayed until the end of the season. In the summer of 2000, Scott returned north and to his first spell in the SFL when he signed for Third Division Peterhead. At Peterhead he scored once in the league against East Fife. However, it wasn't long before he moved up to the First Division where he initially joined Ross County, but didn't make any appearances, and then Morton in March 2001. He was unable to prevent Morton's relegation to the Second Division. However he remained in the First Division when John Lambie brought the 29-year-old to his newly promoted Partick Thistle.

The move to Firhill was perfect for both parties and “Shaggy” (as he was affectionately known to the Firhill faithful) was an ever-present in the league and Scottish Cup; the heart of a Thistle defence which gave little away as a surprising title was won, and the club's first Scottish Cup semi final appearance since 1979 was secured. In fact, both of Scott's goals as a Jag were scored in that cup run. Thistle drew Inverness in the quarter-final and his magnificent left-foot volley at Firhill secured a replay, before his never-to-be-forgotten free-kick winner in the pouring rain at Inverness secured the semi final berth. However Thistle were defeated in that semi-final by Rangers. Such was the level of his consistency during the campaign, Scott was nominated by his fellow professionals for the prestigious Scottish Professional Footballers' Association (SPFA) award for First Division player of the year in April 2002, but was thwarted by Airdrie's Owen Coyle in the final vote. All the same, in a career that was plagued by injury, it was satisfying for Scott that he was finally getting a run at it, and he was relishing the opportunity.

Playing top-flight football for the first time, Scott was part of a Thistle team which defended solidly in 2002-03 and, having more than proved himself at that level, he won a move to Dundee United in the summer of 2003. Although his length of time at Tannadice was similar, Paterson was injured in his second match for the club against Celtic and spent almost his entire time injured, appearing briefly in the final match of the 2003–04 season also against Celtic. How's your luck? Further short spells in Scotland followed, including a brief loan spell back at Firhill for Dick Campbell's struggling Partick Thistle. His only appearance in that second spell was a disaster; Partick Thistle 0 St Johnstone 4. “Partick heroes have become zeroes. Abysmal, atrocious, deplorable” said the Glasgow Herald!

Scott returned to his Aberdeen home-town team, Cove Rangers, and back to the Highland Football League at the start of 2006–07. Paterson went on to be a youth coach at Aberdeen before linking up with former Dundee United colleague Gary Bollan at Livingston in September 2009. On 30 January 2013 he was appointed interim assistant manager, alongside former team mate Alan Archibald, at Partick Thistle. Securing a Top 6 finish in 2016-17 was a career highlight for both men, but he left Partick Thistle along with Archibald in October 2018 as the pair were relieved of their duties after relegation and a poor run of form going into the new season. In November 2021 Stephen Wright, the Head of academy for Dundee, revealed that Paterson had been assisting him at their Performance School.

2002 - SFL FIRST DIVISION