SUMMER HAULIDAYS
Devlin spent his break fixing his form and fitness – now he’s glad he rejected extra time off
Mikey Devlin has sacrificed his summer to give Aberdeen the season he thinks they deserve from him.
The Dons defender was offered extra time off after his Scotland call-up stretched the end of term by a full three weeks for him and fellow stopper Scott McKenna.
But the inju r y- plagued 25-year-old didn’t believe he had earned a rest after just a 16-start league season.
He’s now 18 months into his Pittodrie career – but Devlin has never felt like he’s made it out of first gear.
Now he’s determined to ditch the disappointments after a string of heart-to-hearts with manager Derek McInnes over his form and fitness.
Devlin said: “I didn’t want last season to come to an end.
“After missing a lot of football through injury, I was fully fit and felt the break came at a bad time. I was slightly surprised but delighted that I was actually in the Scotland squad.
“I wasn’t expecting to be there because I hadn’t exactly been playing week in week out.
“So I wanted to try to build on that confidence boost from being a part of that international set- up. I relished that week, training with such good players.
“Rather than take extra time the manager had given me, I just wanted to come back and hit the ground running. “I wanted to fight for my place and do everything I could to show I was ready in time for the first competitive games.
“Scotty did take some extra time – I wasn’t throwing him under the bus by coming back early, honestly!
“The big man needed it after all the games he played.
“Since he broke in two seasons ago, he has been involved in every Scotland game, including the South America games, then straight back into it last season.”
Devlin arrived at Pittodrie in January 2018 from Hamilton, still six months from full fitness after a nightmare knee injury. He
made his debut in their European clash with Burnley last summer before an ankle injury, sustained on Scotland duty in November, put the brakes on his season for a further three months.
By his own admission, though, there was more to his absence at the end of the season than his fitness – and that’s a situation he’s out to remedy.
He said: “Things weren’t how I wanted them to be but I knew what to do to get it back.
“I wasn’t performing wel l enough. I came back from injury in February but didn’t play at the level I expect of myself or what is expected here.
“The team were doing well so you don’t have time to take four or five games to hit your stride. I didn’t manage that – that’s why I wasn’t playing regularly.
“There’s only one person who can take responsibility – that’s me. So I’ve tried to rectify matters over the summer so I’m ready to go again.
“I didn’t need the gaffer to tell me that. We had a couple of honest chats but I knew I hadn’t been at my level.
“Now if I get any opportunity to play, I’ve got to grasp that.” Despite not being stripped against Cyprus or Belgium, Devlin’s selection by Steve Clarke for the new national boss’ first squads was exactly the boost the Dons stopper needed.
He said: “It was brilliant, a real positive. It told me that, having played against Kilmarnock, he’d liked what he saw.
“Any player who would prefer a summer holiday to being part of the national squad is miles off.
“I got the call-up news on the day of my brother’s wedding and it was one of the best days I’ve had. What a boost – I’d kept mysel f ticking over on the off-chance I might be in it.
“But I believe in myself, that I’m a good player, and when you get this chance you have to take it and thrive on it.”
Devlin and McKenna have fresh competition for their shirts after Ash Taylor’s return.
But after his starts against Burnley last term, Devlin is in no mood to sacrifice the taste of Europe when the Dons face Finnish outfit RoPS at Pittodrie on Thursday night.
He said: “I loved the European ex per ience l a s t sea son, short-lived though it was.
“We came so close to a shock against Burnley – hopefully we can draw on that confidence and make this campaign a good one.
“The magnitude of the games was fantastic, certainly for someone like me who’d never played in Europe before. What a brilliant way to make my European debut.
“This year there is an element that we can progress. We know RoPS will give us a tough game but every Dons player will be well rehearsed how we are going to approach the ties.”