[citation needed] He started his career in the youth system at AFC Bournemouth before a number of clubs showed an interest.
He made his first team debut as a substitute at St Mary's Stadium, coming on for Jordan Robertson against Norwich City on 30 September 2008.
[4] In his first year as a professional, Paterson caused controversy during an FA Cup tie against Manchester United on 4 January 2009, when he was given a red card for a tackle on Nemanja Vidić.
[10] On 12 February 2011, he made his Stockport debut against Bury and scored the opening goal in a 2–1 victory to lift The Hatters off the bottom of the table.
[20] Paterson continued his good form with Burton by coming on as a substitute for Calvin Zola after 20 minutes against Dagenham & Redbridge.
A poor back pass allowed Paterson to run through on goal and slot the ball home to make the score 2–1.
[26] In hunt of regular football and to lose his 'super-sub' moniker, Paterson elected to drop a league and take on the challenge of joining a side starting the new season with −10 points following their recent flirt with Administration.
Returning from injury Paterson started in the local derby against Woking on 24 August and immediately made an impact by scoring after 21 seconds.
[27] Paterson returned to the Shots side following an ankle and groin injury and four weeks on the sidelines to score the opener in the ill-fated FA Cup replay against Shortwood United, eventually losing the game 2–1.
Paterson came off the bench to clinically finish a good Shots move that saw him score the winner and give Aldershot their second league win a row.
[30] Following an injury-filled season, Paterson moved on a short-term loan to Havant & Waterlooville to get 'match fit'; he returned to Aldershot mid-April.
He scored his first goal for the club on 13 September 2014 against Weston-super-Mare in the Conference South, and achieved the first hat-trick of his career several weeks later in a 7–0 victory over Larkhall Athletic in the FA Cup.
[34] Paterson won promotion with Havant & Waterlooville in the 2016–17 season back into the Conference South, scoring 18 goals in the process.
[36] Drawing Notts County FC away in the second round of the FA Cup – Oxford City were the massive underdogs, but when Paterson scored the equaliser to get the game to 2–2 it was the highlight of the club's season.
Paterson continues to score freely in the National League South, his total reaching 21 with a double against Bognor Regis Town FC on 21 April.