I did wonder whether he would make the step up after signing from Scunthorpe, but it is becoming clear the former Iron is coming exceedingly good, with 13 goals already under his belt before Boxing Day.
Crucially, nine of them have come in the league, the latest the strike which got Burnley back in the game against Bristol City last Saturday that they went on to win, the three points keeping Owen Coyle's team in fourth and putting some pressure if the bookies' favourites above.
These are bread-and-butter goals and it's always a sign of a top striker when they can find the net in the league with regularity.
It looks as though we've got ourselves a good 'un.
For example, both Paul Barnes and Ian Moore had decent returns in their spells at the club in the mid nineties and early noughties respectively, but I suspect the breakdowns aren't as impressive. Memory may play tricks here but I recall Barnes scoring a lot of goals in a few games and Moore netting for fun against lower division sides in cup matches, but neither doing the business week-by-week in the league, which is, put bluntly, where it matters.
Paterson looks full of confidence at the moment - obviously feeding on a winning team spirit as well as good quality ball from the likes of Chris Eagles and Wade Elliott.
That can only be good going into league matches Burnley should be looking to get points from - Barnsley and Donny are next up and the return must be better than a month or so ago when only one point from a possible six was harvested from the first set of fixtures.