Ryan Edwards may only be 22, but the Partick Thistle midfielder is already planning for life after he hangs up his boots.

Edwards has only recently become ineligible for Australia’s under-23 side, which he captained, but he has already started his coaching badges along with some of his Firhill teammates.

His father Alistair, himself a former professional footballer and now a successful coach in his own right, is an obvious inspiration.

And even though retiring from playing may be a long way off for Edwards Jnr, he firmly believes that more young players should be bucking the trend by planning for life after football as soon as possible.

“I go in on Tuesday for my assessment for the B licence, so hopefully that goes well,” Edwards said.

“It’s been good, we’ve been in for four or five days in each international break and we do our practical work on four different topics. It’s challenging, but it’s good.

“I think I’m probably one of the youngest in the group, if not the youngest, out of the 25 or 26 players that are doing it.

“I think it’s really good to start early. You learn a different side of the game that you maybe haven’t seen yet, and it allows you to see things through your boss’s eyes and gives you an insight into his thought process.

“Christie Elliott, Kris Doolan and Abdul Osman are doing the coaching badges too along with me, and the management team have been encouraging us and have helped us.

“They’ve allowed us to go and do it which has been good because we’re in training as well.

“The manager and Scotty Paterson have been brilliant. They put on really good training sessions and I’ve learnt a great deal since I’ve come in.

“I’m finally settled in a place and I’ve got some stability, so I want to do something while I’m playing football.

“My dad is a coach and I like the stuff he does, so I thought I would throw myself in there. I’m 23 this month, and I thought I would have a go and see if I enjoyed it.

“My dad played at a high level in his football career and played for the national team, so from that aspect it’s great to have your father doing that.

“He then went into coaching and I really like what he’s done with his career after football as well, and that’s something I’d definitely like to do as well.

“When I told him I was doing the B licence he was really happy and told me to go for it, and that it was a really good thing to have your badges.

“If I pass this, then he has encouraged me to press on and go for the A Licence too.

“If not, at least I would have tried it and I think it’s a great thing to have, even if you don’t use it.

“I can see myself looking at coaching or becoming a manager at the end of my career.

“It’s a good option to have. It’s the game I love and I’d love to stay in football.”

Edwards picked up the McCrea Financial Services Partick Thistle player of the month for the second time in a row before Friday night’s game against Aberdeen.

While the midfielder has managed to maintain his own high level of performance, the fact that the rest of the team followed suit during October was the most pleasing aspect for Edwards.

“I didn’t expect it to be honest,” he said. “The boys have been performing really well and any of the boys could have won it.

“I’m very happy. I said last month that I would have traded it for three points, and this month has been great.

“We got seven points in a week and we’ve moved up the table, so it’s been a good month.

“It’s definitely more satisfying because the team have moved up the table.”