Liam Dick has revealed the welcome distractions at home that are helping to keep his mind off Raith Rovers’ remarkable title push.
Dick became a dad to Oliver six months ago and the youngster is keeping the Stark’s Park defender on his toes when he is away from training and playing matches.
And the left-back is also trying to juggle football and parenthood with studying for an Open University degree in sports fitness and coaching.
It is a balancing act he appears to be winning, going by his impressive performances on the pitch for Raith this season.
And it is a challenge he would recommend to any other player as they look for an alternative career beyond football.
The former part-time player with Alloa Athletic and Stranraer said: “I’m currently doing a course through the Open University, just to make sure I’m set up for when I have to either come out of full-time football or hang up my boots.
“Hopefully that’s not too soon but it’s good to have a fall-back option.
“I’m doing a course in sports fitness and coaching and I’m just in my second year.
“I’m loving it. It’s a good distraction from football.
Dick: ‘I would encourage any team-mate’
“I’ve got the challenge now that my wee man will be six months old on the 14th.
“So, it’s a case of finding the time to do the uni work as well as football and looking after him, along with my partner, Molly.
“It’s a challenge but it’s good and it is a distraction from football.
“I would encourage any of the boys, young or old, to get involved in something like that.
“It’s hard to decide when you’re going to study when you’ve maybe been up really early with the wee man and then trained and come back to the house.
“But sometimes the idea of it is more daunting than the reality of it.”
As stand-in skipper, Dick helped lead Raith – temporarily – to the summit of the Championship with a sensational 4-3 victory over Partick Thistle on Friday night.
And, after Dundee United’s own triumph over Ayr United at the weekend, the Kirkcaldy side aim to return to top spot with another win, against Arbroath at Gayfield on Wednesday night.
He is convinced that would return the pressure back to the Tangerines ahead of a mouth-watering meeting of the division’s main protagonists at Tannadice on Saturday.
The 28-year-old added: “You do only look to the next game but at the same time we’re aware that we’ve got Dundee United at the weekend.
Raith need to get Arbroath job done first
“We can go and apply a little bit of pressure if we manage to go and get the job done up at Arbroath.
“But any other team in the league will tell you how hard Arbroath away is at the weekend, never mind during the week.
“So, we know that will be a tough game.
“We’ve just got to deal with that first and hopefully we can get the job done and then go up to Tannadice.
“But it’s Arbroath first and they’re a top side. They’ve also got the bounce of the new manager coming in there.”
