Retro: The day Callum Paterson arrived for Hearts as a 17-year-old striker

Paterson announced himself at Tannadice as a right-back playing striker

Everywhere Hearts fans went in the summer of 2012 they were accompanied by eternal sunshine. Basking in the glory of the 5-1 thumping of Hibs in the Scottish Cup final, even the warning signs over the club’s finances failed to diminish the perma-grin plastered across everyone of a maroon persuasion.

As they celebrated, new manager John McGlynn had to get to work. Stephen Elliott, David Templeton, Craig Beattie and Rudi Skacel had or would depart before the close of the transfer window.

It resulted in improvisation as witnessed in the first friendly that summer, a visit to Raith Rovers in July 2012. One notable memory was of Ryan McGowan playing as a No.10, while another was the arrival of Callum Paterson lining up on the right of defence three months shy of his 18th birthday.

Callum Paterson hit his first (competitive) goals for the club in a 2-0 win over Dundee United. Picture: SNS

The travelling support that day got their first taste of this willing, enthusiastic, buccaneering teenager who managed to get on the scoresheet.

By the sixth league game of the season, Paterson was appearing in his third position. From right-back to right midfield to striker. In game seven he announced himself with a performance which was somewhat prescient.

Hearts travelled to Dundee United after a fairly underwhelming start to the campaign which brought just one win from the opening six league encounters – there was of course that evening at Anfield when they led Liverpool.

McGlynn fielded a relatively young team with McGowan back on the right of defence, Scott Robinson in midfield, plus Arvydas Novikovas, Dale Carrick and Paterson in attack.

Instinctive finishing

What followed was an entertaining afternoon at Tannadice, the sunshine of the 5-1 final in situ, as Hearts recorded a triumphant result at a ground where they had encountered plenty of issues over the years, namely Barry Robson and indiscipline. Twice Michael Stewart was sent off in defeats, once for arguing with a Hearts fan, the other on his debut as captain.

But after surviving a strong penalty claim, the visitors took control around the half-hour mark. A surging McGowan run followed by pinball in the area saw the ball fall to Paterson just inside the United box to instinctively sweep the ball into the corner in a similar dominant manner to Virat Kohli finding the boundary for the Indian cricket team.

It was joined less than two minutes later by an even better strike by Novikovas, his long-range dipping shot finding the bottom corner of Radolaw Cierzniak’s goal.

It wasn’t all plain sailing with Jamie MacDonald producing two fine saves which belonged in the 1950s, springing up and catching the ball rather than pushing it away from danger.

By the hour mark it was over. Yet, again McGowan’s tenacity was key to the goal, as was defending straight out of Chuckles University from the home side when a mix-up allowed Paterson to slot into an empty net.

Few would have expected that the 17-year-old right-back playing forward would go on to play in the Premier League and for Scotland as a striker.