Devlin proud of Hearts and vows to keep working hard
It was just banter but Cammy Devlin’s post-match comment about his Aussie team-mate Nat Atkinson spoke volumes about the players’ ambition as the curtain falls on the domestic game and attention turns to international targets.
“He will have a teaspoon of cement and he’ll toughen up,” joked Devlin of his colleague’s physical readiness. He was just one of several players carrying knocksorshyoffullfitnesshaving rushed their recovery with the Scottish Cup final in mind. “Hewillbefine.youcan’tsayno to getting a call-up.”
The energetic and feisty Hearts midfielder had only just started to rake over the coals of that Hampden defeat, which had seen his countryman endure a tough afternoon struggling to cope with the combined Rangers threat of Calvin Bassey and Ryan Kent. But, looking ahead to the summer when the Socceroos will have to beat United Arab Emirates to continue their play-off quest for a seat at the Qatar 2022 table, Devlin backed the full-back to shrug off disappointment and injury to play his part.
“It is what it is. I think he only has one groin muscle at the moment but he’s hanging on!” said Devlin. “He got stuck in for 120 minutes and he has been unreal since he came in January. I’m so proud of him and he is a great friend of mine.”
Atkinson was called up to Australia’s senior squad for the last round of qualifiers, against Japan and Saudi Arabia. But Graham Arnold’s men were unable to get the win that would have catapulted them straight into Group D for this year’s World Cup. That means they have to overcome both UAE and then Peru in tense one-off ties in June to reach the same goal.
“The Socceroos squad has
definitely been on my mind for a while now,” admitted Devlin, who would love to join his club-mate in future squads. “Getting injured for 10 or so weeks doesn’t help the cause but I will keep working hard for Hearts. With hard work and how I apply myself I’m sure I will get my call-up. But doing well for Hearts is the only way I’m going to make it.”
He has seen others at the club earn similar reward, with captain Craig Gordon and John Souttar vital contributors to Scotland’s qualification cause and Craig Halkett’s recent callup serving as a reminder that domestic form is being noted by international bosses.
While Gordon and Halkett will hope to help the team improve next season, Souttar will take on a fresh challenge with the Europa League finalists. And, he won’t be easy to replace, according to Devlin.
“The gaffer had a word with us in the dressing room about how good a season we’ve had. A few players were mentioned - John was one of them,” said
Devlin. “He is going to be tough to replace. But, like you’ve seen, we’ve had a lot of injuries in recent months including Souttar and Halkett but we have been doing well and winning games because Toby [Sibbick], Taylor [Moore] and Alex [Cochrane] have been unreal. So, we should be okay.
“But, from the day I got here John has taken me under his wing. Even though half the time he’s screaming at me because I’m maybe not doing what he wants me to do. But I don’t mind that as a player. We always chat behind the scenes and he’s only trying to make me a better player and show me his experiences.
“It’s going to be tough replacing a Scotland international. But I’m sure we will.”
Souttar and Halkett were superb despite the fact they had been sidelined for so long. Along with the likes of Devlin, theywontheracetobefitbutthe Aussie star says there remains an element of ‘what if ’.
“In hindsight you can say how good would I have been
if I’d played for the last two months? You can ask the same about all the injured boys. But it wasn’t to be. They’ve [Rangers] had injuries and they played in Spain on Wednesday night.
“It’s not a perfect world, you’ve got to get on with injuries and that’s part of football and we did that, I did that. I personally tried as much as I could not only to get back ready for this game but for the games before so I could be fit for the final and I haven’t played even 90 minutes for a few months so it was tough but it’s a final.”
The 23-year-old buzzbomb’s first season at the Tynecastle club could hardly have gone much better, though, with Robbie Neilson’s men finishing comfortably in third place in the Premiership, ensuring European group stage football next term, and reaching the last two in the country’s most prestigious knockout competition.
“For me personally, a young Aussie coming over from the other side of the world, making
a Scottish Cup final is something I never thought about,” he added. “So, to do that in front of my mum and dad was really special. It would have been extra-special to win but it was an unreal experience. Our fans were outstanding which we’re so happy and grateful for. Unfortunately, we just couldn’t
do it for them. It’s crazy because when you are a player you just rock up to work and go day by day. You don’t really get time during the season to think about what has been achieved.
“You have games so often that you don’t really think about what you’re doing.
You just do it. Now that I have a few weeks off I will reflect a Scottish Cup final, finishing third and getting Europe to look forward to.
"I’m super proud of the team and I’m so lucky to be at this football club. Hopefully we can just take that extra step next year.”
Jurgen Klopp was proud but disappointed after seeing his Liverpool side miss out on the Premier League title to Manchester City.
A rollercoaster afternoon saw the Reds’ fans buoyed by City’s struggles against Aston Villa while they willed their side to find a way to defeat Wolves after conceding an early goal.
They eventually managed it with late goals from Mohamed Salah and Andy Robertson earning a 3-1 victory but City mounted their own comeback to maintain their onepoint advantage.
The result ended Liverpool’s hopes of winning an unprecedented quadruple ahead of next weekend’s Champions League final against Real Madrid, and Klopp said: “The boys played an incredible season.
“The whole journey of 21-22 so far is absolutely exceptional.
"The game today showed again so much about these boys.
"We concede an early goal, which gave us a knock. We didn’t play football really, not like we usually play.
“We had to take off Thiago early, which is not helpful, and then you still find a way.
It’s absolutely outstanding. 92 points obviously is crazy with all the games we played.
“So yes I am proud but I’m disappointed, of course. It’s not cool but it’ s not completely unexpected, obviously. It was clear before the game that a lot of things have to happen.
“Congratulations to Man City and Pep Guardiola, all staff and all players, the whole club, for being champions. we were close but in the end not close enough.”
Huge cheers greeted the news that Villa had gone two goals up and, after Salah finally made the breakthrough, excitement swept an field that City may have conceded again before hope swiftly faded.
Klopp could not help experiencing the emotions on the sidelines, saying: “I can imagine it was much worse for the people at home watching on their tellies, when Aston Villa is 2-0 up and you think, ‘Wow, it could really be’.
“I was not really aware of it, in my mind it was 1-0. I heard all the story only after the game.
"There was one moment when I heard 3-2 and then for a second, I don’t know why we started it, I thought they equalised again. It was a good moment but it was only a second.
“With all the things, I would have preferred they( city) were 5-0 up after 10 minutes and then we play the game and it is fine. it makes it of course more difficult.
“But the season was so close, so tight. What I learned in life is, if you keep going, you get the reward. Not today but we will get it. It’s up to us to keep going and that’s what we will do.”