Syme looks to reward faith showed by manager

Young defender looks to kick on after ‘stop-start’ time at Thistle

David Syme says he is desperate to build a reputation of his own at Raith Rovers after getting “a few pelters” because he is related to the former referee of the same name.

Syme has signed for Rovers on a deal for the remainder of the season after negotiating his early release from Partick Thistle this week.

The 19-year-old joined the Jags in the summer after deciding his time at Rugby Park was up under manager Lee Clark, but failed to make the impact he hoped at first-team level.

The move to Rovers reunites him with former Killie boss Gary Locke, who handed the young defender his debut aged just 17 in 2015.

And the teenager is hoping the switch can help his promising career after a six-month spell at Partick that was increasingly frustrating – but at least saw him meet his great uncle for the first time after getting stick for sharing a name with one of Scotland’s top officials from the 1980s.

He explained: “David Syme, the former ref, is my dad’s uncle.

“I’ve had a few pelters about that in games, with people saying things like ‘are you David Syme, the ref?’ I just had to laugh it off.

“I got absolutely caned for it at Celtic Park when I was warming up, though.

“I don’t really know the man but apparently he’s actually a Partick Thistle fan and so the first time I ever met him was when I made my debut for Partick.

“This guy came up after and said ‘do you know who I am?

“I looked at him and said ‘no, not really’. So, he introduced himself as my dad’s uncle and so I said to him ‘so you’re the ref!’”

Syme was freed by Thistle this week to join Rovers on transfer deadline day and is eager to make the most of the move.

He added: “I’m delighted to have signed for Raith because I was a bit stopstart at Thistle.

“I got off to a good start, had a good pre-season and thought I was doing really well, and then played in a couple of League Cup games.

“But, as soon as the league started, I never really featured. It was a bit of a frustrating time for me because I felt I was good enough to play.

“I knew the gaffer from Killie. He gave me my debut in his first game in charge up at Inverness and it was a great experience for me, especially since I was only 17.

“He’s shown faith in me ever since and he knows he can trust me in different positions, and that’s why I needed to come to Raith.”

Pictures: SNS. Young defender David Syme, top; and his great uncle of the same name, above.