Nathan McGinley: Motherwell FC ace will study accountancy when not starring for Steelmen

The left back, who joined the Steelmen on a two-year deal from English League Two outfit Forest Green Rovers this summer, impressed on his competitive debut despite Motherwell losing 1-0 in Monday night’s Scottish Premiership opener against Ross County in Dingwall.

“I’m just trying to get the accountancy course sorted asap at the moment,” Middlesbrough-born McGinley (23) told the Times and Speaker.

“It’s online and then you go and sit exams afterwards.

“It’s not a degree, it’s just a qualification specialising in accountancy.

“It will be tough doing professional football and an accountancy course at the same time but you’ve got to set yourself up for later on in life.

“It’s ideal because as a footballer you have a lot of spare time, finishing early afternoon.

“You spend a lot of time sitting around so I thought I might as well do something!

“In my spare time I do a lot of reading and stuff like that so I just thought: ‘Why don’t I do something and set myself up for life after football?’

“I find it really interesting so I just thought: ‘Why not?’

“I get a lot of help with funding through the PFA which is really good.

“It seems like a bit of a no brainer to be fair and football is a short career so I want to set myself up.”

The course’s flexibility means McGinley won’t be committed to doing set hours every week, making it easier to fit it around playing and training with Motherwell.

“You work around your schedule so it seems really good,” he added.

“We train four days a week. You train in the morning, do a bit of gym, have a bit of food, we usually get home about late afternoon after we’ve done all the things in the gym and extra training.

“I’ve always liked the maths side of things. It seems logical to go into numbers.”

McGinley and his mates are at home to Dundee United in their second league game at Fir Park this Saturday.

He said: “We were disappointed with the result at Ross County but if we just stick to what we do I think everything will come good.

“It’s easy to go into crisis talk so early but it’s daft.”