Raith Rovers kid Dylan Tait hopes his new deal at Stark’s Park is just the start of a successful period for both player and club.
Former Partick Thistle youngster Tait signed a new contract last week that ties him to the Kirkcaldy club until 2024.
The 19-year-old midfielder was delighted to get negotiations over the line and is now aiming to kick on with the club.
“I was spoken to a couple of weeks ago and asked if I wanted to sign a new deal,” he said.
“I’m enjoying it here just now and I thought: ‘Why not?’
“It’s a good place for me to keep developing and, hopefully, I can play more and more games and keep improving.
“I’ve got another three seasons (after this one) and by then I’ll be 22, 23 and, hopefully, much better than I am just now.
“I’ve had a couple of bumps in my career so far but everything just now is going the way I want it to go and I just hope it keeps going that way.
“Hopefully we can have another good season and finish as high up the table as possible.”
Creative spark Tait looks to former Raith team-mate and pal Kieron Bowie, now at Premier League Fulham, as an example of how he can kick on in the game.
He added: “Me and Kieron were in the same team and the gaffer signed us here at the same time.
“Last year it was good playing with my pal and he’s obviously done well and got his move down to England. I’m sure he’s enjoying it.
“It’s good for him and the club got money for him, so it’s a win-win situation for everyone.”
He continued: “You just have to do well here and you never know who’s watching you.
“First of all, you need the manager to show faith in you to go out and play your stuff. If they do that and give you the platform to go and play, the longer you play, the more confidence you get.
“That’s when you can start to express yourself, and people will come and start watching you. You just try to impress them as well.”
Tait disappointed as Raith throw away two-goal derby lead to draw with Dunfermline
Impress Tait did in their 2-2 Fife derby draw with Dunfermline at Stark’s Park at the weekend.
However, he admits they were disappointed with a share of the spoils after conceding two goals in two minutes from a winning position.
They do, however, remain third in the Championship standings after a strong start to life in the division.
He commented: “We were 2-0 up and we’re, obviously, disappointed with losing two goals. We just need to kick on and try to take the positives out of the game.
“We probably should have gone on to win the game but Dunfermline are a good side, so when you give them a lifeline they’re going to throw everything at you.
“We had more than enough chances to win the game – we hit the bar twice, the post. Overall, it’s probably a decent point but we’re disappointed.”
In only his second full senior campaign after signing for Rovers in January 2019, Tait has adapted well to life in the Championship following promotion.
However, he admits Saturday’s result proves there is a step up in class going into Scotland’s second tier but one he feels they are coping with well.
“Coming up, we’re playing against better players and we’ve still got the majority of the players from last season. We’re a young team and we’re learning every week.
“We’re disappointed but I think we’ve shown since we came into this league we can play against anybody – and we feel we can beat anybody on our day.
“We just have kick on this week.”
