Devine stumped by Thistle ace Liam’s Scotland ‘snub’
PARTICK Thistle defender Danny Devine can’t believe teammate Liam Lindsay hasn’t been included in the Scotland squad announced yesterday for the matches against Canada and Slovenia.
The Northern Irishman says everyone at Firhill was expecting Gordon Strachan to take a closer look at the 21-year-old, who has been outstanding this season for the Jags.
But Devine has backed the young prospect to continue his improvement, making it impossible for the national team boss to overlook him for too much longer.
“I think we’re all surprised,” Devine said. “I’ve played alongside Liam all season and he’s a great young talent. He’s still very young, but he’s a huge presence in the team.
“He’s such a big lad, and I think he’s come on leaps and bounds this season. He’s been one of our best performers and he has chipped in with his fair share of goals.
“If you took him out of our side now he would be a big miss, and that’s testament to how well he’s playing at the minute.
“It’s a bit disappointing and I think he will be disappointed that he hasn’t been included.
“But all he can do is keep his head down and keep playing the way he is playing, and I’m sure that will come eventually.
“It doesn’t matter how old you are, if you are playing every week and putting in consistently solid performances, then I think you deserve a chance.
“It’s up to the Scotland man- ager tdto do what hth he wants to do though, and if I was Liam, I would just keep my head down and keep working hard.
“With the type of person he is, I know that is exactly what he will do.”
The performances of the Thistle defence overall have been exemplary of late, earning them eight clean sheets in their last 12 matches in all competitions.
The much-improved individual form of Devine himself within that has not gone unnoticed, with the Thistle supporters voting him the McCrea Financial Services player of the month for February. When I first came it was difficult to settle into a new team and you have to figure out the way that your new teammates and your new manager want to play,” he said.
“I think in the last couple of months though I’ve been able to show my best form, and hopefully I can continue in that vein and keep the level of performances up there.
“I think for any team, having the solid foundation of keeping clean sheets gives the boys at the top end of the pitch the chance to go and express themselves and get us goals, and ultimately win games for us.
“You can’t underestimate the importance of keeping it tight at the back and keeping clean sheets, because it obviously means you are only one goal away from taking three points.
“That’s been key in getting us up to where we are at the moment in the table.”
THISTLE’S current position in the top half of the table could have been even more secure had it not been for the late equaliser conceded at home to Inverness on Saturday.
Devine says that their failure to hold on for maximum points in that game has given this week’s clash with seventhplaced Kilmarnock even further significance.
“It could be the result that cements our place in the top six,” he said.
“Getting a win on Saturday to open up a gap of five points means it would be up to us to throw it away, and we would be more than confident of keeping a hold of that place.
“It’s not going to be easy though.
“The league has been tight all season and I think it’s going to be like that until the end of the season.”