Symes poised to bolster Bridport (From Bridport and Lyme Regis News)

Symes poised to bolster Bridport

9:44am Wednesday 26th May 2010

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JAMIE Symes could play an instrumental role for Bridport next term – and believes they can send shockwaves through the division.

The talented teenager sampled his first taste of senior football last season and dazzled onlookers with a string of mature performances that belied his tender years.

Such was the impression Symes made that Dorchester Town snapped up the youngster on dual registration forms with the Bees.

And in January Symes travelled to Lancashire for a trial with Blackpool, who earned a lucrative promotion to the Premier League last weekend thanks to a play-off final victory over Cardiff City.

The midfielder was invited back for a second audition but admits he is unlikely to take Tangerines’ manager Ian Holloway up on the offer before he has passed his driving test.

That means Symes, who also rejected a seven-day approach from Yeovil Town, is likely to continue his footballing education on the south coast.

He told the Bridport News: “I’m going to do pre-season training with Dorchester and possibly with Bridport, but hopefully I’ll stay in touch with the people at Blackpool as well.

“I was supposed to be playing with Bridport and training with Dorchester at the end of last season, but because Bridport had so many midweek games that didn’t work out.

“I’m hoping to go as far as I can in football. Ashley Vickers (Dorchester boss) has been keeping in touch with me and he is keen for me to stay around here for a while.

“Maybe I’ll be playing for Bridport a lot next season and if that’s the case I’m more than happy to do that. I want to develop my game as much as I can and I feel I’ve improved already in my first season.”

Symes cites the camaraderie among the players as a reason for the Bees’ renaissance during the second half of the campaign, which featured a remarkable voyage to the semi-finals of the Les Phillips Cup.

And he reckons keeping the nucleus of the squad intact is key to challenging in the upper echelons of Toolstation Western League Division One next season.

Symes added: “We were beating teams in the league above us in the cup so we know we have the potential and talent to improve on where we finished.

“If we can keep the squad together I think we should be aiming to finish in the top six or higher. The banter at the club is great because there are a lot of mates playing for each other.”

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