Players should think about life after football, says Higgins

Chris Higgins has urged players to think positively about the future amid the uncertainty of the coronavirus pandemic.

But he hopes the global health crisis does not put paid to careers here and now.

Higgins doubles up life on the pitch with East Fife with his work as personal development officer with players’ union PFA Scotland.

It is his role to help members plan for a second job or for what they will turn to after they hang up their boots.

And the former Dunfermline and Queen of the South defender reckons the football suspension is the perfect time to focus on what comes next.

He said: “A real passion of mine is speaking to players to plan for a second career and planning for the future, and I’ve spoken to numerous players since we went into lockdown.

“A big thing from my point of view is to help players at all times, but with no football at the moment players will be struggling and will have a lot of free time on their hands.

“So, now is the perfect time to start thinking about things. It can just be a thought or an initial discussion with myself, it doesn’t need to be knowing exactly what you want to do.

“That’s sometimes the issue with footballers, they’re not 100% sure what they want to do – and that’s totally fine.

“Players have spent all their life playing football, so why would they want to think about anything else? But I provide them with various tools to spark something in their mind and then take it from there.

“Scottish football is so tight in terms of finances and a lot of players are on year-to-year contracts, which makes things really difficult.

“But if players are starting to think about other things, it can help ease the stress.

“It can help you focus on doing something outside of football.

“It’s a really uncertain time for football and that’s going from clubs to club staff to players to fans.

“But the message for the players at the moment is this is the perfect time to start thinking about things.”

Chris Higgins wants to help players plan for their future.