Dylan Easton is the first to admit he was his own worst enemy early in his career.
But the fans’ favourite reckons being forced to start all over again is helping him appreciate what he now has at Raith Rovers even more.
Easton burst to prominence at Livingston at the age of just 17 and was very quickly snapped up by an expectant St Johnstone.
But the mercurial midfielder confesses his attitude left a lot to be desired during his two years on the books at McDiarmid Park.
From there it was on to League Two Elgin City and Clyde, where he suffered a serious knee injury, and then Forfar in League One before helping Kelty Hearts to promotion from the Lowland League.
His upward trajectory began again with Airdrie back in the third-tier and then on to Raith, where he penned a two-year contract extension earlier this summer.
“I’m not going to beat around the bush,” Easton told Courier Sport. “Everyone knows what I was like as a kid.
“I didn’t have a great attitude and I ruined it for myself at times at St Johnstone.
“They were brilliant with me at the time as well.
Easton: ‘I thought I was better than I was’
“But I wasn’t going into training and stuff, and thought I was better than I was.
“Some things come with age. Having my kids at a young age has turned me into the man I am now.
“I’ve learned from my mistakes and hopefully next season we can have a good year and I can get to the Premiership with Raith Rovers.”
Arriving two years ago as PFA Scotland’s League One player of the year, Easton quickly wormed his way into the affections of the Raith support.
A hat-trick on his debut in a 6-0 victory over Peterhead in the Premier Sports Cup was a fine way to start.
And he ratcheted things up last season with 12 goals in 47 appearances for the Stark’s Park side as they came close to reaching the Premiership.
The 30-year-old will again be one the Rovers fans will pin their hopes on as the new campaign gets up and running with a trip to face Stirling Albion in the League Cup on Saturday.
“It’s probably been harder for me,” added Easton, “getting injured and having to work my way back up.
“At a difficult stage in my life, I went where the money was. I went part-time and then went to Kelty [in 2019].
‘Prove myself’
“But then I decided I would rather take less money and go back full-time and prove myself.
“I sat down with my missus and said I would rather go and play at the highest level I could because when I’m 30 or 35 I’d look back on my career and regret not giving it a go.
“Thankfully, so far, it’s working out.
“Hopefully next year I’ll be in the Premiership with Raith Rovers and I’ll feel like I’ve completed football, in some sense, by playing right through the leagues.”
