Martin Paterson: Why ‘candyfloss’ hamstrings were the making of the Notts County boss

Hamstrings “made of candyfloss” denied Martin Paterson the career he wanted as a player.

Now, as Notts County head coach, the 38-year-old is determined to ensure his players do not squander their opportunities in football.

That’s why, with the Magpies fourth in League Two with seven games left, the former Stoke City, Scunthorpe and Huddersfield striker, who played in the Premier League with Burnley, wants them to do all they can to seize their chance of promotion.

The manager Paterson has become, and the demands he puts on those under him, is fundamentally linked to the player he could never be.

He was only 30 when he retired, seeing out his playing days overseas with stints in the United States and India, when less than a decade earlier he was scoring in England’s top flight.

“I was robbed in my career, physically,” Paterson told BBC East Midlands Today.

“I never got the chance to show how good I was. I reached the Premier League at 22, I was a £1m player at 20. But then I had a massive knee injury, and my hamstrings were made of candyfloss.

“So I carry that into my coaching and, whether my players like me or not, I want them to get every chance to sit in their deck chair when they’re older and go, ‘I gave it my best shot and I reached the level that I should have reached’.

“I want my players to understand that I want to make them better. I never really got the chance to know how good I could have been, and I don't want that for them.”