He was named as 2008–09 captain of the West Ham Under-18 team,[6][7] but joined Cheltenham Town on an initial one-month loan on 24 September 2008.

[12] Payne made his West Ham and Premier League debut on 21 March 2009 in a 1–1 away draw against Blackburn Rovers coming on as a 90th-minute substitute for Diego Tristán.

[15] Payne returned to West Ham on 20 November, having played only three games for Colchester, as manager Aidy Boothroyd decided not to extend his loan.

[20] On 28 July 2010 Payne signed for Doncaster Rovers on an initial six-months contract after a successful trial period at the club.

[21] He made his Rovers debut in the League Cup tie against Accrington Stanley on 10 August 2010, scoring his first and Doncaster's only goal in a 2–1 defeat.

[26] In January 2012 it was confirmed that Payne would be joining Aldershot Town on loan, initially for a month but later extended to the end of the season.

After a successful debut season with Eastleigh, Payne decided to reject a new one-year deal to venture into The Football League.