Former Scotland defender David McNamee has joined the Royal Navy.
The 35-year-old, who was capped four times by his country, is now training to become a mine warfare specialist, Navy officials said.
McNamee said joining the forces has seen him achieve an ambition he always had as a child.
The former footballer said: "I finished playing and I decided to do my qualifications for going into the coaching world and started to work at Coventry City Academy.
"I found that I didn't have the same drive to do that as I had had when I was a player.
"So, I decided I had to do something I was interested in doing and if I hadn't been a football player, I would have been involved with the military in some way, whether it be the Army, Navy or RAF.
"It was something I'd always wanted to do as a kid. I decided that if the Navy was what I was going to do, I was going to have to do it now, before I was too old."
Before hanging up his boots last year, McNamee enjoyed a 15-year career on both sides of the border.
His former clubs include Aberdeen, St Mirren, Blackburn, Livingston and Coventry City.
Reflecting on his footballing days, he said: "Representing my country was obviously a high point in my playing career."
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