Pawel Abbott started his career at Preston North End. Abbott made only a handful of appearances for Preston and had two loan spells at Bury during his time at Deepdale. In early 2004, Abbott was signed on loan by Huddersfield as a makeshift replacement for Jon Stead who had just been sold to Premiership side Blackburn Rovers. He scored on his debut after coming off the bench against Bristol Rovers.

During his time at Huddersfield (the deal was made a permanent one) he scored fifty-one goals including twenty-seven during the 2004/05 season. In July 2006, Abbott rejected a move to Milton Keynes Dons as part of a swap deal with their defender Dean Lewington but on January 22, 2007, he signed for Swansea on a two and a half year deal for a transfer fee of £150,000. He spent only six months at Swansea, before moving to Quakers for £100,000.