Last week saw Steve 'Pele' Paterson launch his brutally honest 'Confessions of a Highland Hero', a fascinating book charting the dizzy heights and despairing depths he reached during four decades in football.

It champions the achievements of a Mosstodloch 'loon' who once starred for the mighty Manchester United and went on to become North football's finest manager, masterminding the Scottish game's greatest-ever cup shock.

But he was a flawed genius who fell victim to a crippling gambling addiction which began on the slot machines at the Keith Show and ended with him being more than £1.3 million out of pocket.

Remarkable success at Elgin, Huntly and Inverness Caley Thistle earned him the manager's job at Premier giants Aberdeen, before his increased betting and drinking away from the football ground brought about his eventual downfall.

Since then, Paterson has come clean about his addictions, undergone rehabilitation in a clinic and emerged at the other side with his demons finally exorcised.

"Basically I've got my life back on track," he told 'The Northern Scot'. "I would like to think I will always be on a better path now and I don't think I will ever go back to my former lifestyle."

Now aged 51 and back in his old job as a social worker, 'Pele' admits that being out of football for the first time in his adult life has left a big void in his life which the buzz of a matchday used to fill.

But even though his addictions were a by-product of his involvement in football, he considers himself fortunate to have experienced so many great days in the sport.

He also feels lucky to be a citizen of Moray, where he has always kept his feet firmly rooted.

"You get to realise that nothing lasts forever, but I think I've had a fantastic time. Of course it was blighted by my own personal problems but in the book, I never wanted to be portrayed as having a miserable life because for most of the time it was really enjoyable.

"I've always had a great pull back to where my roots are and that's the wee part of Moray around Fochabers. I just enjoyed my childhood that much in terms of the outdoor offered, the river Spey, the sea and that remains to this day.

"I still wake up feeling really happy to be living where I live. I appreciate the beauty of Moray and although I've lived in some fantastic places, home is always the best."

'Confessions of a Highland Hero' is filled with so many peaks and troughs which panned out over Paterson's life.

He once survived a car crash which claimed the life of a friend, inadvertently smuggled drugs into Scandinavia and witnessed corruption in the game.

Some hilarious moments include hitchhiking in a stinking cattle lorry to get to the FA Cup final in which his Manchester United team-mates were playing, and enlisting his drinking buddies to decide whether he should take up a big managerial post.

As well as playing for Manchester United as a starry-eyed teenager, 'Pele' was the first European to play in the Japanese league and also had spells in Hong Kong and Australia.

A new chapter - Steve Paterson hopes he has exorcised his demons with his confessional book. Bob Bruce (NS)

At Old Trafford, he made his First Division debut as an 18-year-old, and admits he was privileged to rub shoulders with Scots international stars like Martin Buchan, Gordon McQueen, Lou Macari and Joe Jordan, along with English heroes like Ray Wilkins and Steve Coppell.

But he really made a name for himself in the managerial world, and his career peaked when he steered Caley Thistle to their famous 2000 Scottish Cup shock victory at Celtic Park, spawning the newspaper title 'SuperCaleyGoBallisticCelticAreAtrocious'.

"I had 15 out of 15 highly successful seasons managing three different clubs and its just unfortunate that when the bigger things came about I was probably in my worst personal place ever. That's life and that's part of my story.

"Amongst it all there is some pretty irresponsible and sad behaviour as a result of heavy drinking and obviously my addiction to gambling which has caused me mayhem throughout my life.

"But I've still got so much to be proud of and I feel my career shouldn't really be tarnished in the sense that my record at Elgin, Huntly and Caley was fantastic."

Perhaps his lowest point came at Aberdeen when he failed to turn up for a Premier League match at Dundee because of a heavy drinking session the night before. It led to a very public admission of his problems with alcohol in front of a packed Press room, and though the Dons stuck by him, poor results brought on by financial restrictions led to his sacking.

He later managed Forres Mechanics, a club who as a player he inspired to their first and only Highland League title in 1986.

Also a manager at Peterhead, he eventually drifted out of the game and last year he sought help from his gambling hell at a clinic in England started by former England and Arsenal captain Tony Adams, himself a football star who fell victim to drink problems.

"When I came out of the clinic I was trying to follow a programme to really get myself back on track and a lot of that was just about being bloody honest with yourself and looking at everything in a true light rather than trying to be in denial about it."

Taking out six months to write his book with journalist Frank Gilfeather, he said his story-telling stints were like counselling sessions, but he found his trips down memory lane to be therapeutic as well.

"That all helped to flavour the book in terms of the fact that there's no holds barred really. I do bare my soul. I'd go through a particular part of my life and the common thread of every period was the compulsive gambling and the heavy drinking."

"I haven't had a drink now in 14 months which, anyone who knows me would call that miraculous because I did love my pint of Guinness. I feel good for it and my priorities are right again. I've got my family as a priority, I've got my work and I feel I am back on track.

"Some people would say its 30 years too late but that's just the way my story goes. Problems like addiction to alcohol or gambling, if you don't address them they'll kill you or destroy you.

"I'm just lucky that I've got a good family and a good set of pals who have supported and stood by me. A lot of folk are not so lucky."

c.christie@northern-scot.co.uk

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