From stopping goals them... Pat’s the way

THERE’S a feeling among the national media that Cardiff City are having us all on.

They’ve been fielding a former Hearts right-back as their striker in the Premier League and he’s actually scoring goals.

Four of them to be precise – more than any other Cardiff player.

Callum Paterson’s transformation from useful utility player to the Bluebirds’ foremost focal point is certainly one of the more intriguing talking points of the season.

Especially when you consider Paterson the person as well as the player. Paterson the joker, the flossing figure of fun who combines silly celebrations with a serious style of forward play that is confounding Premier League defences the world over.

So just how did the slightly cumbersome, moustachioed 24-year-old from Edinburgh become a Cardiff City cult hero?

Once a striker, always a striker?

“CALLUM’S not a full back – he can’t defend,” said Warnock last season.

“I’ll have to have a word with Craig Levein when I see him. I’ve been sold a dummy by Hearts there.”

Warnock’s words seemed slightly bizarre given the success Paterson enjoyed as a right-back north of the border.

But the Yorkshireman was nevertheless determined to find Paterson a place in his team, first as an attacking midfielder and more recently as a striker.

We’ve heard the words ‘Paterson is not a striker’ on many occasions this season. ‘Makeshift’ has been a commonly used term.

But former Hearts boss John McGlynn, now in charge of Raith Rovers in the Scottish third tier, thought in 2012 along the same lines as Warnock would six years later.

On coming across a 17-year-old Paterson, he was willing to throw him into the Hearts first team – up front.

“I’d just arrived at the club in that summer and there was a number of cutbacks, a number of players had left in the summer,” says McGlynn.

“Callum was known to me and the youth team coach at the time, Darren Murray, had played Callum in lots of different positions.

“We had only a couple of other strikers at the club at the time. Callum was very quick, very strong and very powerful – also very good in the air – so he ticked a lot of boxes playing up front.”

It didn’t work for McGlynn in such dramatic fashion as it’s worked for Warnock, but the seeds were sown.

Loving every minute

ONE of the main reasons why both McGlynn and Warnock were willing to take a gamble on Paterson was his boundless enthusiam.

Sol Bamba echoes Warnock’s belief that “he just cannot defend, trust me”, but has been taken aback by the Scot’s willingness to perform tasks without question, without complaint.

“What’s important for the gaffer is that you’re ready to go through brick walls and if you do, he’ll look after you,” says Bamba.

“He just gets on with it, even when he doesn’t touch the ball in a game like Liverpool, he’ll always work hard.”

Paterson is just loving every minute.

He has developed a remarkable relationship with the Cardiff fans too – who adore not just his work rate and unerring knack of scoring, but his eccentric personality.

Aside from his heroics in aiding the Bluebirds promotion and subsequent survival bid, there’s been plenty to enjoy off the pitch.

Swigging from a bottle of MD 20/20 after promotion, replicating dances from popular video game Fortnite, dressing up as a policeman for the Cardiff City Christmas party, sliding bizarrely into the net after Junior Hoilett’s goal against Wolves... the list of Paterson antics is long.

In Warnock’s words, “he’s not a full shilling”.

“What’s not to love?” says Bluebirds fan Scott Johnson.

“You either have personality or you don’t. You can’t fake it.

“Callum Paterson is so popular for so many reasons, but I think it’s mainly because he’s fun. He looks like he’s having fun out there, as he should be, and it’s infectious.”

“He’s extravagant, he’s funny, the way he celebrates goals just shows the way he is,” adds Bamba.

And McGlynn spots the same character he saw developing in the Hearts academy, now blossoming on the biggest stage.

“I’ve seen these celebrations and you can see that he’s enjoying himself,” says McGlynn.

“And why not?

“He’s expressing himself which he was always keen to do.

He’s obviously developing as a player and a person and it looks like he’s struck up a rapport with the Cardiff fans – it was similar at Hearts as well.”

“He was popular in the Hearts dressing room and the thing he was best known then for were his goal celebrations,” adds Scotsman football journalist Barry Anderson.

“I see that has continued for Cardiff. If you look at footage of his goals for Hearts then he always celebrated in a different and crazy way.”

Crazy is probably the right word for Paterson, but in the best possible way.

Reaping the rewards

DESPITE signing for the Bluebirds in June 2017, Paterson’s Cardiff debut was delayed until late October due to an ACL injury.

Initially, he struggled to break into the team on his return from injury, partially a product of Warnock’s belief that he couldn’t play at right-back.

That struggle for selection continued into this season, despite Paterson finishing as the Bluebirds’ top league