Patience pays off for Dons and Devlin
AS ShowS of faith go, it was certainly unstinting. The kind of pick-me-up that might well have encouraged Mikey Devlin to walk all the way from hamilton to Aberdeen in January, had it not been for the ongoing recuperation on his wounded knee.
Poleaxed by a cruciate ligament injury sustained in the heat of a relegation battle the previous May, the defender might have feared he was drifting from the thoughts of suitors when the transfer window opened at the turn of the year.
A long-term strategist to his bootstraps, though, Derek McInnes looked beyond the 24-year-old’s painfully slow recovery and to the player he would surely become again. The offer of a three-and-a-half year deal said much about the regard in which he held Devlin.
having resisted the temptation to throw Devlin in at the tail end of last season as he neared full fitness, McInnes now hopes to reap all the benefits of a new player — without the concerns of assimilating him with the squad.
‘he has had the benefit of integrating with the players and working with them,’ said the Dons boss.
‘I think that has been a real benefit. he’s not trying to get up to the pace of players halfway through a season. It’s a good time to come back.’
No one who saw Devlin in full flow for Martin Canning’s side before fate so cruelly intervened would question the wisdom of the Dons boss going all-in on a player who has missed 12 months of first-team action.
If it goes without saying that the first steps back in such an unforgiving environment may require a degree of patience and the shaking off of a little ring-rust, there is nothing to suggest he won’t get there in the fullness of time.
hot on the heels of Scott McKenna’s emergence last season, McInnes is hopeful he will soon have a formidable defensive partnership on his hands.
Asked what Devlin’s main attributes were, he replied: ‘Size and leadership qualities. I think he and McKenna can be exciting together. There’s a lot of potential there, as well as a lot of good leadership qualities.
‘Devlin is one who we always thought took responsibility for his defending. he’s had to overcome a couple of serious injuries and that shows the personality of the player.
‘Those injuries can sometimes get the better of individuals. Looking at the strength of him to overcome that and attack the injury, especially the way he’s been with us, that gives me the confidence that I know the type of person I’m working with as well as the type of player.
‘he’s trained and done his testing. he’s looking great. he’s champing at the bit to get going and that’s him ready now. he’ll do every bit of training. he’s good to go.’
having cemented their place as second in the Premiership, McInnes is hardly likely to make radical changes to his squad this summer.
To date, hamilton’s Lewis Ferguson, Ipswich Town’s Stephen Gleeson and Peterborough’s Chris Forrester are the only additions.
Kenny McLean has gone to Norwich, Ryan Christie is Celtic’s property for now, while Anthony o’Connor and Kari Arnason have moved on to Bradford city and Vikingur.
A return to Pittodrie on loan for Jonny hayes would appeal to McInnes if Celtic made him available but, with the Europa League clash with Burnley not taking place until July 26, there is no sense of panic.
Ahead of his side’s trip to Ireland this week, where they will face Cobh Ramblers on Saturday, McInnes said: ‘we’re light at the back, so we need to get another defender in.
‘That’s probably the area we’re concentrating on at the moment.
‘hopefully we’ll utilise the budget we’ve got and spend what we’ve got. I’m not going to leave anything. If there’s a budget there to spend, we’re going to try to spend it and get the best level of players in.’