MORTON midfielder Ross Forbes has been caught enjoying a night on the tiles – after signing up for a DIY course.

The player, who recently signed a new two-year deal at Cappielow, is only 27, but is already preparing for life after football.

With a professional footballer’s career unpredictable, Forbes is weighing up what to do once his playing days are over – and has swapped tackling for tiling.

The former Motherwell, Partick Thistle and Dunfermline midfielder is one of a group of Premiership and Championship stars who have signed up to a six-week course, organised by players’ union PFA Scotland.

Forbes, who has been at Cappielow for 18 months, says it is crucial that players think ahead, because they have to work just like everyone else.

He told the Telegraph: “I’ve been thinking about it for a wee while, about what I could be doing after football.

“I just want to learn some new things.

“I’ve got a two-year contract that I signed in the summer so it gives me two years to think about what’s going to happen after football.

“It’s better to prepare earlier than leaving it to the last-minute.

“It is a short career and could finish at any time, so it’s something you’ve got to prepare for.

“I’ve got a mortgage to pay, so if this doesn’t work out then I need something else to pay the bills.”

Other players on the course, which takes place every Wednesday at a trade school in Coatbridge, include ex-Ton pair Bobby Barr, now with Raith Rovers, and striker Brian Graham, who now plies his trade with Ross County.

For many of the group, including Forbes, football is all they have known from a young age and they are relishing the opportunity to broaden their horizons.

But the Morton midfielder admits that he has to practice more before he is unleashed on any bathrooms or kitchens.

Forbes said: “I don’t think I’m that good yet. I’m enjoying it and it’s good learning something different. I’ve been in full-time football since I was 16 and it’s the only thing I’ve ever really known.

“There’s nobody really in football that can prepare you for what’s going to happen after it. It’s not really up to the clubs so the PFA are trying to help the players and get things done.”

While he has not been inundated with requests for work from his Cappielow team-mates, Forbes says the first team are right behind him.

He said: “They’re asking how it’s going and now that I’m doing it a few boys are interested in doing something else too.

“It’s certainly something I could see myself doing down the line.”