Martin Andrew Paterson (born 10 May 1987) is a former professional footballer who is the assistant head coach of EFL League One club Huddersfield Town.

[citation needed] Born in Stoke-on-Trent, he played as a forward; he began his career with Stoke City, making his senior debut in April 2005.

He failed to win a regular first-team place, however, and had a loan spell at Grimsby Town in the 2006–07 season before he was allowed to join Scunthorpe United in July 2007.

Born in Tunstall, Staffordshire,[1] Paterson failed a trial at nearby Port Vale at the age of nine as the club felt he was too small, but was instead accepted into the Stoke City academy.

[3] He made his first-team debut for Stoke as a late substitute for Chris Greenacre in a 2–0 win over Plymouth Argyle in a Championship game at the Britannia Stadium on 16 April 2005.

[7] Nine weeks later he joined League Two side Grimsby Town on an initial one-month loan, along with Stoke teammate Anthony Pulis.

[9] The loan was extended into a third month, and after scoring a total of six goals in his 15 games for Grimsby, manager Alan Buckley said that "for supporters to sing 'why don't you sign him', we've got to get real... there was never any possibility of us making anything permanent for a player like Martin.

[18] Six days later he made his first league start since his return from injury, and scored Burnley's consolation goal in a 2–1 defeat to Portsmouth at Turf Moor after lobbing England international goalkeeper David James.

[35] Paterson went on to fall behind Nahki Wells and James Vaughan in the pecking order however, and on 15 March he joined Bristol City on loan for the rest of the season.

[25] He made his debut for the "Robins" in a 0–0 draw with Swindon Town at Ashton Gate Stadium on 15 March, and admitted he was "disappointed not to score" after missing a good chance to win the game.

[42] On 26 January 2015, Paterson joined Major League Soccer side Orlando City, who were managed by fellow Stoke-on-Trent native Adrian Heath, on a five-month loan deal.

[54] However, he struggled with a back injury and remained unpopular with supporters due to his Stoke City connections, and left Vale Park on 27 December upon the expiry of his contract, having scored only two goals in 12 starts and six substitute appearances.

[56] Paterson signed a contract with the Tampa Bay Rowdies of the United Soccer League on 15 March 2017, having already appeared in four pre-season games as a trialist.

[59] However, Sherringham was sacked days later, leaving Ashley Westwood in interim charge for Paterson's scoring debut in a 2–1 defeat to Chennaiyin FC at the Salt Lake Stadium on 25 January.

[62] Nigel Worthington handed Paterson his senior team debut as a 72nd-minute substitute for Warren Feeney in a 1–0 defeat to Spain in a UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying match on 17 November 2007.

[65] He scored his second international goal on 14 August 2013, his header securing Michael O'Neill his first win as manager with a 1–0 victory over Russia in a qualifying game for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

[68] He withdrew from Northern Ireland's squad three months later in order to focus on his pre-season with Huddersfield Town, citing injury issues during the 2013–14 season in his decision.

[69] Former Burnley manager Eddie Howe described Paterson as "a real grafter, you can see that with the way he plays, he sets the tone really in terms of his closing down and work rate and also he's got quality as well".

[71] In February 2020, he was named as assistant coach to Jason Kreis at USL League One club Fort Lauderdale CF.