| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1989-03-25)25 March 1989 (age 36) | ||
| Place of birth | Greenock, Scotland | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Kelty Hearts (assistant coach) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2005–2007 | Aberdeen | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2007–2012 | Aberdeen | 51 | (4) |
| 2008 | →Brechin City (loan) | 16 | (4) |
| 2011 | →Stockport County (loan) | 15 | (4) |
| 2013–2015 | Queen of the South | 60 | (7) |
| 2015–2018 | Dunfermline Athletic | 60 | (4) |
| 2018–2019 | Dumbarton | 24 | (1) |
| 2019–2020 | Queen of the South | 22 | (1) |
| 2020–2022 | Brechin City | 39 | (4) |
| 2022–2025 | Albion Rovers | 12 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2020–2021 | Brechin City | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 16 August 2023 | |||
Michael Paton (born 25 March 1989) is a Scottish former professionalfootball player and coach, who works as assistant manager forKelty Hearts. Paton has previously played forAberdeen,Dunfermline Athletic,Dumbarton,Stockport County andQueen of the South over two spells, and was theplayer-manager ofBrechin City and wasplayer-coach atAlbion Rovers.
Born inGreenock,[1] Paton was a product ofAberdeen'syouth academy and first played senior football forScottish Second Division clubBrechin City, whom he joined on loan from January to June 2008; he joined up with theGlebe Park club for a short second loan spell in September 2008,[2] 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 overInverness Caledonian Thistle.[3] He scored his first senior goal for theDons in a 2–1 defeat toRangers atIbrox in May 2009.[4]
Paton was a regular for Aberdeen in the2009-10 season. He scored his first brace in a 3–2 defeat toDundee atDens Park in the quarter-final ofScottish League Cup, after appearing as a substitute.[5] Paton set upLee Miller to score the only goal in theDons' 1–0 win over Rangers atPittodrie Stadium.[6] The following month, he signed a three-year contract extension to keep him at the club until May 2013.[7] In the 2010 January transfer window, he was linked with a loan move toDundee[8] but this didn't transpire. Paton scored his second league goal for Aberdeen versusHibernian atEaster Road on 10 February 2010, and his first at Pittodrie three days later versusCeltic 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 strikerScott Vernon. He turned down possible loan moves toGreenock Morton andDundee, insisting he wanted to fight for his first-team place at Aberdeen.[9] In his first appearance of the season, Paton received a straightred card for the first time in his career for stamping onJonny Hayes in a 2–0 defeat versusInverness Caledonian Thistle. His three-match ban was rescinded by theScottish FA on appeal and he was available to return for the next match.[10] On 30 November 2010, Paton travelled to Austria for a three-day trial withAustrian Bundesliga clubFußballclub Wacker Innsbruck, with the aim of winning a short-term loan deal in the following transfer window but this wasn't concluded.[11]
Paton was offered a free transfer byAberdeen during the 2011 close season but opted to stay with the club.[1] At the end of that transfer window on 31 August 2011, Paton signed forStockport County on a six-month loan deal.[12] His debut saw him receive a yellow card during the match in a 1–1 draw versusTelford United. Having featured in five games, Paton then scored his first goal for the club on 1 October 2011 in a 2–1 defeat versusYork City.[13] Two weeks later on 11 October 2011, he scored a brace in a 4–3 defeat toDarlington[14] Paton would score one more goal versusBath City and also provided an assist forNick Chadwick in a 2–0 victory.[15] He returned to his parent club at the end of November after sustaining an injury.[16]
On 31 August 2012, Paton was released by Aberdeen;[17] his release left him demoralised after he was surplus to requirements at the Pittodrie club.[18] Meanwhile, theDons manager at that time,Craig Brown, said that Paton's release was mainly due to his lack of scoring goals.[19]
On 28 February 2013, Paton signed forQueen 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.[20] On 2 March 2013, he debuted forQueens, appearing as a substitute forPaul Burns in the 71st minute in a 3–2 win overEast Fife.[21] On 27 March 2013, Paton scored his first two goals for Queen of the South in a league title-clinching 6–0 win againstBrechin City.[22] On 20 April 2013, he scored his third goal for the club in a 4–0 win versusForfar Athletic.[23] After helping the club win theScottish Challenge Cup and gain promotion back to theScottish Championship, his performances earned him a contract extension with theDoonhamers until 31 May 2014.[24]
At the start of the2013–14 season, Paton began well and scored the winning goal in the opening league match in a 4–3 home victory over recently relegated clubDundee, who hadJohn Brown as their manager.[25] On 25 August 2013, he again scored the winning goal in a 2–1 win versusSt Mirren in the second round of theScottish League Cup atPalmerston Park.[26] On 25 September 2013, Paton scored again in the third round of Scottish League Cup versusHearts.[27] On 30 November 2013, he scored versusSt Mirren once again, this time in the fourth round ofScottish Cup, in a 2–2 draw. ThePaisley club, however, would go on to win the replay.[28] On 21 December 2013, Paton scored his second league goal of the season in a 2–2 draw versusLivingston[29] and his third on 11 January 2014 in a 3–1 win versusAlloa Athletic.[30] In his first full season with theDoonhamers, Paton had 38 appearances and scored six goals in all competitions. He went on to sign an extension to his contract at the end of that season.[31]
In his second season with theDumfries club, Paton scored in the first round of theScottish Challenge Cup, in a 4–3 defeat versus Livingston.[32] However, he then suffered a hamstring injury that kept him sidelined for four months.[33] Paton's return to the first-team was on 12 December 2014, appearing as a substitute forIain Russell in the last few minutes of the 2–0 home win versus Rangers.[34] Having returned to the first-team squad, mostly appearing as a substitute, he then had a goal assist forAidan Smith in a 1–1 draw at Ibrox versus theGovan club[35] and then on 21 March 2015 scored his first goal of that season in a 4–1 win versusCowdenbeath.[36] Paton's second season saw him playing on 23 occasions and scoring one goal in all competitions. With his contract expiring at the end of that season, his future with the Dumfries club looked uncertain and he decided to move on to another club.[37]
After two years with Queen of the South, Paton's new club was to beDunfermline Athletic in the close season of 2015, being signed on a one-year deal byAllan Johnston, his former manager at Palmerston.[38] Paton's debut for thePars was versusArbroath in theScottish Challenge Cup[39] and his first match atEast End Park was in a 5–1 win overFife derby rivalsCowdenbeath.[40] After registering six assists, he scored his first goal for the club in September 2015, in a match versusDundee United in theLeague Cup.[41] After winning the league title versusBrechin City with five league matches remaining, Paton agreed a new one-year extension to his contract with thePars to keep him at East End Park until summer 2017.[42] Dunfermline manager Johnston described Paton as a "massive player" for theScottish League One champions[42] with Paton finishing the season as the club's best creator of goal scoring opportunities.[43]
Paton spent a further two seasons with the club, although his time was marred by injury. His final match for Dunfermline came in a 2–1 defeat toSt Mirren on 26 January 2018, when he was replaced after 63 minutes.[44] Following the end of his contract he was released in May 2018,[45] having made over 80 competitive appearances for the side.
Following a successful trial period, Paton signed forScottish League One clubDumbarton on 13 July 2018.[46] He scored his first goal for the club in a 2–1Scottish Challenge Cup victory againstGreenock Morton in August 2018.[47] After 30 appearances and two goals for the club, he was released after a single season in May 2019.[48]
On 15 July 2019, Paton signed for theDoonhamers for a second spell after a pre-season trial period.[49]
Paton signed forBrechin City in October 2020.[50] In the following month he became theirplayer-manager.[51] Brechin were relegated fromScottish League Two at the end of the season, after which Paton stepped down from his role as manager but remained at the club as a player for the 2021/2022 season.[52][53]
| Club | Season | League | Scottish Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Aberdeen | 2007–08[55] | Scottish Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2008–09[56] | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | ||
| 2009–10[57] | 35 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 39 | 5 | ||
| 2010–11[58] | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | ||
| 2011–12[59] | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| Total | 51 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 57 | 6 | ||
| Brechin City (loan) | 2007–08[55] | Scottish Division Two | 16 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 4 |
| Stockport County (loan) | 2011–12[59] | Conference National | 15 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 4 |
| Queen of the South | 2012–13[60] | Scottish Division Two | 10 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 3 |
| 2013–14[61] | Scottish Championship | 30 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 36 | 6 | |
| 2014–15[62] | 20 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 24 | 2 | ||
| Total | 60 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 71 | 11 | ||
| Dunfermline Athletic | 2015–16[63] | Scottish League One | 31 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 40 | 3 |
| 2016–17[64] | Scottish Championship | 18 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 22 | 2 | |
| 2017–18[65] | 11 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 19 | 2 | ||
| Total | 60 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 81 | 7 | ||
| Dumbarton | 2018–19[66] | Scottish League One | 24 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 30 | 2 |
| Queen of the South | 2019-20 | Scottish Championship | 22 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 27 | 2 |
| Career total | 248 | 25 | 17 | 2 | 19 | 7 | 14 | 2 | 298 | 36 | ||
| Team | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | W | D | L | Win % | |||
| Brechin City | October 2020 | May 2021 | 24 | 2 | 4 | 18 | 008.3 |
Queen of the South
Dunfermline Athletic
