Former Dundee fans’ favourite Nicky Riley has swapped full-time football training for the classroom as he looks to pursue his dream to become a PE teacher.
The winger left the Dark Blues by mutual consent at the start of November after four years at Dens.
He had been told in the summer by Dundee boss Paul Hartley that he was free to find another club and he did spend a month prior to his departure on loan at Jim McInally’s Blue Toon.
Now, though he will put pen to paper on a deal to stay at Peterhead until the end of the season while continuing his college studies.
He admits the lessons are enjoyable but to start with he struggled as the only thing he had written in recent years was the odd text message.
He said: “I have agreed a deal with Peterhead and will sign the paperwork later this week.
“Jim played a big part in me deciding to go back there. They are a good bunch of boys at the club and I enjoyed my month’s loan there but I have known Jim since he was my coach at Celtic when I was 16.
“I left Dundee in November but I have been keeping myself ticking over training with Peterhead.
“However, there is no substitute for playing games and I know it will take me a while to get back to full match fitness.
“I have also been attending Dundee College since September with the possible target of ultimately becoming a PE teacher.
“That was one of the reasons for going part-time. The access to life sciences course has a mix of chemistry, biology, maths and English.
“It is really enjoyable but tough as well.
“I have been out of education for 12 years and the only thing I have written in that time is a text message and now I have to write a thesis.
“I will make my mind up at the end of the season whether I want to take it a stage further and try to become a PE teacher but at least this course has given me options.
“I was desperate to get back playing but this will hopefully give me something for the future as well.”
Riley’s time with Dundee was something of a rollercoaster with the pain of administration in 2010 being followed by the unforgettable “Deefiant” end to the season when Barry Smith’s threadbare squad overcame a 25-point penalty imposed by the league because of the financial mismanagement.
And Riley will never forget last season’s incredible Championship finale that saw Dundee clinch the league title on the last day of the campaign and seeing exactly what it meant to the club’s fans.
He added: “There were definitely more good times than bad for me at Dundee.
“I had only been at the club for a couple of months when we went into administration.
“That was a really tough time for everyone and I wasn’t even sure if I would keep my job.
“However, we then went on that brilliant run to overcome the 25-point deduction.
“It was just incredible and almost certainly something I will never be involved in again.
“Getting relegated was obviously a low point but to be honest it was always going to be a struggle for us after the way we were catapulted into the SPL.
“Winning the league last season was a great experience and I will never forget the scenes at the end of the Dumbarton game and just how much it meant to the fans.
“The Dundee supporters were always superb with me throughout my time at the club.
“They gave me the confidence to play well.”