Former Hearts and Scotland man opens up on mental health battle after rare start
The former Hearts man found the net for his current club at the weekend.
Former Hearts striker Callum Paterson has admitted he has endured a mental health battle after struggling to force his way into Sheffield Wednesday’s starting eleven this season.
The 17-times capped Scotland international scored 39 goals in 162 appearances during a five-year spell in the Hearts senior setup after he broke through the academy ranks at Tynecastle. Paterson was also part of the Hearts squad that saw off the challenges of Rangers and Edinburgh rivals Hibs to become Championship title winners in 2015. After joining English Championship club Cardiff City on a free transfer during the summer of 2017, Paterson made a £400k switch to Wednesday three years later and helped the Owls claim a return to English football’s second tier with a play-off final win against Barnsley in May 2023.
After struggling for regular game-time during the current campaign, there was a positive moment for Paterson on Saturday when he was named in Danny Rohl’s starting eleven for a league game for the first time this season. The 30-year-old rewarded the Wednesday boss by grabbing a goal in a 2-0 win at Queens Park Rangers that lifted his side to within three points of the Championship play-off spots.
Speaking after the game, Paterson admitted his lack of game-time throughout the last six months had taken its toll on his mental health and revealed the situation had impacted on his friends and family during that time.
He told BBC Sheffield: "It’s not fun at all really waiting around and sitting in the sidelines, sitting in the stands, not being involved in squads and things like that. But you have to bide your time and wait for your opportunity, and thankfully, I took mine when it arrived. I’ve got to be honest, it’s not been fun. It’s tough on the old mental health, it’s tough on my family and friends and everyone around me to see me in a bad mood all the time when I'm not getting a lot of game time and not playing. It’s difficult not being able to do my job. Thankfully, when I got my chance, I took it."
Paterson will hope to have done enough to earn another start when Wednesday return to action with a home game against struggling Luton Town on Saturday afternoon.