Dundee United loan star Ruari Paton hopes the story of how he battled back from rejection can inspire other youngsters who are cast onto football’s scrapheap.
Paton, 24, was left devastated when he was released by Hibs in 2019 but remained determined not to return to his native Ireland with his tail between his legs.
Instead, he decided to stay in Scotland and scale the pyramid, turning out for East Kilbride, Stranraer, Queen of the South and Queen’s Park.
Paton found work as a labourer and built office furniture to make ends meet.
All his hard graft paid off when he secured a move to English League Two side Port Vale last summer for a six-figure fee.
However, Paton struggled for game time with The Valiants and he was snapped up on loan by United earlier this week.
Paton said: “I went to Hibs on my 16th birthday, signing a three-year deal. They didn’t give me a new contract but I didn’t want to go back to Ireland empty-handed.
“I didn’t want to be another fella; another boy who had a chance but, at the first sign of rejection, decided, “well, it must not be for me, and it was the manager’s fault”.
“It was the best thing that ever happened to me because I’ve had the bit between my teeth since.”
Hard graft and night shifts
Paton added: “I can appreciate this much more now.
“I was working as a labourer for a couple of months. I was doing night shifts, and then I ended up delivering and building office furniture.
“Now that I’m back in an environment like this, I can contrast it to having no hope of having a career in the top flight.
“It’s a cool story. Hopefully, it’s inspiring for anyone who does get released from a pro academy. It’s not just the end of your football career. You’re still young. You’ve still got a lot of football left to play.
“That’s probably the best message I could give.”
Paton: It’s time for me to show Premiership quality
With opportunities limited at Port Vale, Paton admitted it was an easy decision to move on loan to United.
He said: “At Port Vale there were just too many players. I’m not really content to be in and out. I want to play football and don’t care about anything else. I just want to do the thing that I love.
Paton made his United debut off the bench on Monday night in the Scottish Cup defeat to Dundee at Dens.
Now, he is out to prove he is capable of starring in the Premiership, starting against Rangers on Sunday.
He added: “It’s time for me to show my quality in this league; to do the business. I feel these six months could be pivotal for me, in terms of making a real imprint in the league.
“If I could do that, it would make this year worthwhile. You want to play in big games against big teams. The way it’s going at the minute, we should be confident that we can compete with them.”
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