Michael Paton

Michael Paton (born 25 March 1989) is a Scottish professional football player and coach, who currently plays for Albion Rovers. Paton has previously played for Aberdeen, Dunfermline Athletic, Dumbarton, Stockport County and Queen of the South over two spells, and was the player/manager of Brechin City.

Career

Aberdeen

Born in Greenock, Paton was a product of Aberdeen's youth academy and first played senior football for Scottish Second Division club Brechin City, whom he joined on loan from January to June 2008; he joined up with the Glebe Park club for a short second loan spell in September 2008, but did not make any competitive appearances.

Paton made his debut for Aberdeen during December 2008, coming on as a substitute in a 3–0 win over Inverness Caledonian Thistle. He scored his first senior goal for the ''Dons'' in a 2–1 defeat to Rangers at Ibrox in May 2009.

Paton was a regular for Aberdeen in the 2009-10 season. He scored his first brace in a 3–2 defeat to Dundee at Dens Park in the quarter-final of Scottish League Cup, after appearing as a substitute. Paton set up Lee Miller to score the only goal in the ''Dons 1–0 win over Rangers at Pittodrie Stadium. The following month, he signed a three-year contract extension to keep him at the club until May 2013. In the 2010 January transfer window, he was linked with a loan move to Dundee but this didn't transpire. Paton scored his second league goal for Aberdeen versus Hibernian at Easter Road on 10 February 2010, and his first at Pittodrie three days later versus Celtic with a left-foot strike from the edge of the penalty area.

The following season, Paton's playing time was reduced due to the arrival of new striker Scott Vernon. He turned down possible loan moves to Greenock Morton and Dundee, insisting he wanted to fight for his first-team place at Aberdeen. In his first appearance of the season, Paton received a straight red card for the first time in his career for stamping on Jonny Hayes in a 2–0 defeat versus Inverness Caledonian Thistle. His three-match ban was rescinded by the Scottish FA on appeal and he was available to return for the next match. On 30 November 2010, Paton travelled to Austria for a three-day trial with Austrian Bundesliga club Fußballclub Wacker Innsbruck, with the aim of winning a short-term loan deal in the following transfer window but this wasn't concluded.

Paton was offered a free transfer by Aberdeen during the 2011 close season but opted to stay with the club. At the end of that transfer window on 31 August 2011, Paton signed for Stockport County on a six-month loan deal. His debut saw him receive a yellow card during the match in a 1–1 draw versus Telford United. Having featured in five games, Paton then scored his first goal for the club on 1 October 2011 in a 2–1 defeat versus York City. Two weeks later on 11 October 2011, he scored a brace in a 4–3 defeat to Darlington Paton would score one more goal versus Bath City and also provided an assist for Nick Chadwick in a 2–0 victory. He returned to his parent club at the end of November after sustaining an injury.

On 31 August 2012, Paton was released by Aberdeen; his release left him demoralised after he was surplus to requirements at the Pittodrie club. Meanwhile, the ''Dons'' manager at that time, Craig Brown, said that Paton's release was mainly due to his lack of scoring goals.

Queen of the South (First spell)

On 28 February 2013, Paton signed for Queen of the South until the end of that season. He had been on trial with the Doonhamers, playing on three occasions as a trialist, it was the first club he had played for in six months. On 2 March 2013, he debuted for ''Queens'', appearing as a substitute for Paul Burns in the 71st minute in a 3–2 win over East Fife. On 27 March 2013, Paton scored his first two goals for Queen of the South in a league title-clinching 6–0 win against Brechin City. On 20 April 2013, he scored his third goal for the club in a 4–0 win versus Forfar Athletic. After helping the club win the Scottish Challenge Cup