SECRET OF PATERSON SUCCESS IS POSITIVITY

BASED on the premise that positive thoughts can directly change the world, the self-help book The Secret is not without its cynics despite shifting an estimated 20million copies worldwide.

For Callum Paterson, any initial resistance to self-empowerment purely by delving into the pages of Rhonda Byrne’s 2006 global phenomenon was washed away in the final days of 2016.

Touted for a big-money move south ahead of the opening of that January’s transfer window, the defender’s world was turned upside down after sustaining cruciate ligament damage early on in Hearts’ victory over Kilmarnock just two days after Christmas.

If the huge physical challenge of recovering was complicated by the incident occurring in the middle of the festive season, an open-minded approach to nullifying the psychological impact of the injury paid handsome dividends.

‘I got injured on the Tuesday night just after Christmas, so everything was shut for a couple of days,’ explained Paterson, who is now with Cardiff City.

‘In that time between the accident happening and when I got my scan, I thought it could be everything and I thought it could be nothing. It was a horrible time.

‘You have just got to surround yourself with positive people, think positive thoughts and get yourself in the right mindset.

‘I read a book called The Secret and that was the key. It is a little book that is full of quotes. It has got 365 different positive quotes. I read them whenever I fancied.

‘A couple of boys I knew had read it before. They said to me to keep a hold of it and it would help me out. Brad McKay at Hearts used to pin one up on the wall every day.

‘It helped when I was injured. It is good to be positive. I gave it to a boy down south who is now injured.’

Which cynic could argue with the means by which the player not only recovered but thrived?

Despite still being in the throes of recovery last summer, Paterson had done enough for Cardiff manager Neil Warnock to follow up on his earlier interest with the tabling of a three-year contract.

It was late October by the time the player took his first steps for his new club in a win at Middlesbrough but any lost time has long been made up for. Cardiff sit just six points behind Championship leaders Wolves with a game in hand, with Paterson a scorer in their past three outings.

‘I’m enjoying it,’ he smiled. ‘It’s going well but everyone knows anything can happen in the Championship. But we’ve got to be positive and look to go up.’

Warnock’s reinvention of Paterson has been vindicated by his eight goals to date.

‘I’m playing in a different role, a little higher up the park,’ he said.

‘It’s attacking mid — I’ve been playing just off the striker. I run about and press as many people as I can and get in the box as much as I can. If I keep scoring, it’s only going to be a good season for me.’

No one at Cardiff will dispute that. Yet there are surely implications for Scotland here.

In Paterson’s injury-enforced absence, Kieran Tierney filled in at right-back. But it is not an experiment that new Scots boss Alex McLeish is keen to roll out.

The notion that Paterson was a shoo-in to fill a troublesome role may now be compromised by his advanced deployment at Cardiff.

‘I can play there and everywhere else,’ he said. ‘I’m just happy to play. If that’s where people want to play me, I’ll try and do a job.’

You sense he is not quite as keen on reverting to his latter day role at Hearts as others may be.

Does he entertain notions of playing off the front for Scotland?

‘I’d love to play there but I’m not the most technical No 10 in the world,’ he said. ‘I’m more of a punt-and-run kind of guy. So it probably won’t suit me.’

If not there, where? Right-sided centre-half has been suggested.

‘I’d love to play there,’ he said. ‘It could be ideal. But I’ll play anywhere that is asked of me.’

These are the right kind of problems. Automatic promotion to the Premier League or the prospect of the playoffs? Where to fit along Scotland’s backline?

As far removed from the pain and anxiety of that wretched festive season as you could possibly imagine. ‘It wasn’t a good situation for me, my girlfriend and my family. Even my cat was stressed!’ laughed Paterson (left).

‘I’m kidding. My cat is a good guy. Like I said, you’ve got to be positive. Everything happens for a reason.’