DEVLIN TARGETING EUROPE

CAST aside by Stenhousemuir in the summer of 2014, Nicky Devlin wondered where on earth his footballing future lay. After being released by a club in Scotland’s League One, he feared his only chance of appearing in a national cup final would be in one of Europe’s minor leagues. However, after breathing life into his career at Ayr United and then Walsall, the right-back is currently enjoying the season of his dreams. Gracing a Betfred Cup final this season was a dream come true, even if the 1-0 loss to St Johnstone was painful. But after reaching the top six with Livingston, the highly-rated defender is now hoping to cap a fine campaign by helping the Lions into Europe. ‘It didn’t go to well for us on the day but to get to a cup final was great,’ said Devlin ahead of today’s trip to Celtic Park. ‘That’s the kind of days I didn’t think I was going to have when I left Stenhousemuir. ‘If someone had told me in a few years’ I would be playing in a national cup final I would probably have thought it must be in the Faroe Islands! ‘This club has not been in too many cup finals and it’s not been in the top six too many times. European football has not come along too often either. ‘So, if we could do all of that in one season, it would be a good season. ‘We will go into the last five games in the league trying to pick up as many points as we can to try to make sure we get there. ‘We’ve got Aberdeen in our sights but we’re not overlooking the threat of St Johnstone as well. They’re closer to us than we are to Aberdeen and they are a major threat to us.’