Steven William Paterson (born 8 April 1958) is a Scottish

football manager ''Football Manager'' (also known as ''Worldwide Soccer Manager'' in North America from 2004 to 2008) is a series of football management simulation video games developed by British developer Sports Interactive and published by Sega. The game be ...

and former player. Nicknamed "Pele", after six first team games for

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

, his career was curtailed due an injury in a pre-season game after transferring to

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games a ...

. Despite this and problems as well as a long-term gambling and alcohol addiction, he did have a footballing career with spells in Hong Kong, Australia and Japan where in 1983 he was the first overseas player to play there. Paterson has had more success as a manager, winning several competitions in the Highland League with several clubs and his very fruitful 7-year spell at

Inverness Caledonian Thistle Inverness Caledonian Thistle Football Club, commonly known as Caley Thistle, is a professional football club based in Inverness, Scotland. The team currently competes in the Scottish Championship, the second tier of the Scottish Professional F ...

leading them from the

Scottish Third Division The Scottish Football League Third Division was the fourth tier of the Scottish football league system between 1994 and 2013. History The Scottish football league system had operated with three divisions in the Scottish Football League (SFL) f ...

to the

Scottish First Division The Scottish Football League First Division was the second tier in the Scottish football league system between 1975 and 2013. History The First Division was introduced in 1975–76 to replace the old Scottish Football League Division Two, as ...

and a famous cup upset over Celtic. He has also published an

autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life. It is a form of biography. Definition The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English p ...

"Confessions of a Highland Hero" ghost-written by

Frank Gilfeather Frank Gilfeather (born 30 December 1945, Lochee, Dundee, Scotland) is a Scottish journalist and broadcaster. Gilfeather, a former Scottish amateur boxing champion from Dundee, moved to Aberdeen in April 1969 and began work on the Press & Journ ...

which documents his career and battles with gambling and alcohol addictions which were brought to media attention during his ill-fated spell at

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), ...

. In addition to his football career, Paterson is also a qualified

social worker Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social wo ...

Playing career

During his professional playing career, Paterson played as a

central defender In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

and joined

from Highland League club Nairn County in July 1975. He made a total of six league appearances for the Red Devils over five seasons. He signed for

in a £60,000 deal but an ankle injury sustained in pre-season training forced Paterson to retire. Paterson made his comeback as a player in July 1981 with Highland League club

Buckie Thistle Buckie Thistle Football Club are a senior football club based in the town of Buckie, Moray, who currently play in Scotland's Highland Football League. Founded in 1889, they are also known as ''The Jags'' and play their football at Victoria Pa ...

. He turned down

Dundee United Dundee United Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the city of Dundee. The club name is usually abbreviated to Dundee United. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in ...

to join

Peterhead Peterhead (; gd, Ceann Phàdraig, sco, Peterheid ) is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is Aberdeenshire's biggest settlement (the city of Aberdeen itself not being a part of the district), with a population of 18,537 at the 2011 Census ...

. He had a spell playing for

Hong Kong Rangers Hong Kong Rangers Football Club (), often abbreviated to Rangers, currently known as Biu Chun Rangers due to sponsorship reasons, is a Hong Kong football club which currently competes in the Hong Kong Premier League. They have won the Hong Ko ...

before again returning to his roots with Highland League club Nairn County in August 1982. The following February, he rejoined former boss

Tommy Docherty Thomas Henderson Docherty (24 April 1928 – 31 December 2020), commonly known as The Doc, was a Scottish football player and manager. Docherty played for several clubs, most notably Preston North End, and represented Scotland 25 times betwe ...

at Sydney Olympic and then moved on to become the first European to play in Japan in December 1983. He won cups and titles with Yomiuri before his playing career was again cut short by persistent injury problems. Paterson was a

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

youth internationalist. He debuted for the under-18s against

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,310 it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after We ...

at 15 years old.

Managerial career

Elgin City

His management career began in 1988 in the Highland League with

Elgin City Elgin City Football Club (also known as City or The Black and Whites) is a professional senior football club based in Elgin, Moray. Elgin was founded in 1893 and originally played their football in the Highland Football League. The club was g ...

. Primarily a player-manager in his first season, Paterson had a successful stint at Borough Briggs winning the Highland League, the

North of Scotland Cup The North of Scotland Cup is a knock-out tournament for football teams in membership of the North of Scotland Football Association. The teams involved are based in the Highlands and Moray and membership consists of senior clubs from the Sco ...

twice and the Northern version of the

Scottish Qualifying Cup The Scottish Qualifying Cup was a football competition played in Scotland between 1895 and 2007. During that time, apart from a brief spell in the 1950s, it was the only way for non-league teams to qualify for the Scottish Cup. The Qualifying Cup ...

. He left the club in 1990 due to a contract disagreement with regards to wages.

Huntly

He immediately moved on to Highland League rivals

Huntly Huntly ( gd, Srath Bhalgaidh or ''Hunndaidh'') is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, formerly known as Milton of Strathbogie or simply Strathbogie. It had a population of 4,460 in 2004 and is the site of Huntly Castle. Its neighbouring settleme ...

and his managerial success continued over the next five years. He won the Highland League twice and a host of other silverware including the

Aberdeenshire Cup The Aberdeenshire Cup is a Scottish football tournament for all senior clubs affiliated to the Aberdeenshire and District Football Association (ADFA), being clubs from the historic counties of Aberdeenshire and Banffshire. The Aberdeenshire ...

, the Northern version of the

and the

Highland League Cup The Highland League Cup is a knock-out tournament contested since 1946 by football clubs in the Highland Football League. Brora Rangers Brora Rangers Football Club are a Scottish football club from the village of Brora, Sutherland, in th ...

. He also masterminded a

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Scottish Third Division The Scottish Football League Third Division was the fourth tier of the Scottish football league system between 1994 and 2013. History The Scottish football league system had operated with three divisions in the Scottish Football League (SFL) f ...

club

Dumbarton Dumbarton (; also sco, Dumbairton; ) is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde where the River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary. In 2006, it had an estimated population of 19,990. Dumbarton was the ca ...

Inverness Caledonian Thistle

In the summer of 1995 he joined

, who were playing in the

at that time. Paterson spent seven and a half years at Caley Thistle, their longest-serving manager to date. During this time, he took the club from the Third Division to the First Division and presided over the team's famous victories against Celtic (resulting in the well-known newspaper headline "Super Caley Go Ballistic, Celtic Are Atrocious") and Hearts in the

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Dundee United Dundee United Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the city of Dundee. The club name is usually abbreviated to Dundee United. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in ...

, but he stayed at Caley Thistle for another month.

Aberdeen

He was offered the manager's position at

and became the club's new boss on 11 December 2002. This move was not without controversy, as Paterson and his assistant

Duncan Shearer Duncan Nichol Shearer (born 28 August 1962) is a Scottish former footballer, currently coaching the 'Development squad' at Inverness Caledonian Thistle. During his playing career, Shearer predominantly played for Huddersfield Town, Swindon To ...

were each supposed to have agreed a five-year contract with Caley Thistle not long before their departure to the Dons. Paterson's tenure with Aberdeen was marred by his abuse of alcohol. In March 2003 he failed to attend a home game against Dundee due to being too hungover, after

binge drinking Binge drinking, or heavy episodic drinking, is drinking alcoholic beverages with an intention of becoming intoxicated by heavy consumption of alcohol over a short period of time, but definitions ( see below) vary considerably. Binge drinking ...

the night before the match. Paterson and Shearer left Aberdeen in the summer of 2004, after a campaign in which the club came dangerously close to being relegated. He did however win a couple of

titles during his tenure.

Forres Mechanics

In the same year he returned to the Highland League with Forres Mechanics where they returned to successful ways winning both the

and

Inverness Cup The Inverness Cup is a football competition for teams around Inverness in the Scottish Highlands. Originally, it was contested by the four Inverness based teams: Caledonian, Citadel, Clachnacuddin and Thistle, but became an invitational tourn ...

Peterhead

On 30 October 2006, he returned to the

Scottish Football League The Scottish Football League (SFL) was a league featuring professional and semi-professional football clubs mostly from Scotland.One club, Berwick Rangers, is based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, which is located approximately 4 km so ...

when he was announced as the new manager of

, a position from which he was eventually dismissed on 10 January 2008.

Return to Huntly

In 2010, he returned to the Highland League with a second spell at Christie Park but his return was brief and not as successful as his first.

Formartine United

In March 2011, Paterson left his post at

to take up the managers post at

Formartine United Formartine United Football Club are a Scottish senior association football club from Pitmedden, Aberdeenshire currently playing in the Highland Football League. They joined the Highland League for the 2009–10 season, having been accepted in ...

. He added to his trophy haul with success in the

in 2014. Paterson left Formartine United in summer 2015.

Dufftown

On 9 December 2015, it was announced that Paterson had agreed to become manager of North Region junior side

Dufftown Dufftown ( gd, Baile Bhainidh ) is a burgh in Moray, Scotland. While the town is part of the historic Mortlach parish, the town was established and laid out in the early 19th century as part of a planned new town settlement. The town has several ...

Personal life

In March 2003, Paterson revealed he had an alcohol problem, after missing Aberdeen's 3–3 home draw with Dundee due to being too hungover to attend. In October 2008 it was reported that Paterson had lost £1 million from betting. Paterson's biography "Confessions of a Highland Hero" co-written with former

Grampian Television Grampian Television was the original name of the Channel 3 service for the north of Scotland founded in 1961 and now named STV. The northern region's coverage area includes the Northern Isles, Western Isles, Highlands (except Fort William a ...

presenter

was published in November 2009, and was serialised in the '' Daily Record''.

Managerial statistics

*Scottish Football League statistics only.

Honours

Player

Yomiuri *

Japan Soccer League , or JSL, was the top flight association football league in Japan between 1965 and 1992, and was the precursor to the current professional league, the J.League. JSL was the second national league of a team sport in Japan after the professional J ...

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast As ...

Emperor's Cup , commonly known as or also Japan FA Cup is a Japanese football competition. It has the longest tradition of any football match in Japan, dating back to 1921, before the formation of the J.League, Japan Football League and their predecessor, ...

Xerox Super Cup The , known as the for sponsorship reasons, is an annual one-match association football competition in Japan organised by J. League and the Japan Football Association (JFA). This competition serves as the season opener and is played between the re ...

: 1984

Manager

Elgin City * Highland League: 1989–90 * Qualifying Cup North: 1989–90 *

: 1989–90 Huntly * Highland League: 1993–94, 1994–95 *

: 1992–93, 1993–94 *

: 1993–94, 1994–95 * Qualifying Cup North: 1992–93, 1994–95 Inverness CT *

Scottish Second Division The Scottish Football League Second Division was the third tier of the Scottish football league system between 1975 and 2013. History The Second Division was created in 1975, as part of a wider reconstruction of the Scottish Football League (SFL ...

: Promoted 1998–99 *

: 1996–97 Formartine United *

: 2013–14 Individual * SFL Third Division Manager of the Year: 1996–97

References

External links

Who is Steve Paterson?
{{DEFAULTSORT:Paterson, Steve 1958 births Living people People from Elgin, Moray Scottish footballers Scottish expatriate footballers Scottish football managers Manchester United F.C. players Sheffield United F.C. players Elgin City F.C. players Scottish expatriate sportspeople in Hong Kong Elgin City F.C. managers Inverness Caledonian Thistle F.C. managers Aberdeen F.C. managers Peterhead F.C. managers Expatriate footballers in Japan Japan Soccer League players Scottish Premier League managers Expatriate footballers in Hong Kong Buckie Thistle F.C. players Forres Mechanics F.C. players Nairn County F.C. players Scottish Football League managers Highland Football League players Association football defenders Association football forwards Scottish Junior Football Association managers Sportspeople from Moray Huntly F.C. managers Forres Mechanics F.C. managers Formartine United F.C. managers Highland Football League managers