Deefiant hero bids to be top teacher

Former Dundee star Nicky Riley is ready to prove he’s a top teacher after being forced to hang up his boots.

The former Dark Blues winger called time on his playing career last summer in the wake of a serious cruciate ligament injury while at Peterhead.

Riley, 34, is now progressing towards the completion of his teaching degree – though the Deefiant season hero admits the last 12 months have put him through the mill.

He said: “It’s been a rollercoaster

“Since retiring, I’d been busy doing my course to become a PE teacher until everything that’s happened over the last three months made for so much uncertainty.

“I had to cut short my school placement in Edinburgh, and then you start to think here we go again...

“But thankfully I’ve got an induction day in Graeme High School in Falkirk coming up next week which I can look forward to.

“Hopefully things start to settle down. It’s been a year like no other but I’m ready for this new challenge.”

Former Celtic kid Riley, who made more than 120 appearances for Dundee after signing in 2010 and played in the famous Deefiant side, concedes he misses playing so won’t rule out the chance to pull on his boots again.

Riley, who signed for Jim McInally’s Blue Toon in 2014 after being freed by the Dark Blues after four seasons at Dens, added: “Obviously, you do miss playing a bit.

“I’ve had a couple of enquiries from clubs to see if I’d consider going back to playing again.

“You can never say never but just now the main thing is embracing the next chapter in my career.”