Cameron Devlin watched closely as his teammates John Souttar and Craig Gordon played for Scotland at Hampden on Monday night. The Hearts’ Australian midfielder hopes he will be in their position any day now.
Devlin, who arrived at Tynecastle fresh off the back of an enjoyable summer with the Socceroos at the Olympics, has hit the ground running at Tynecastle. His good form has seen talks about potential future call ups being sooner, rather than later.
“Yeah, it’s nice to hear,” said Devlin, when asked about the speculation.
“It is just noise at the moment and something I try not to focus on too much because it obviously hasn’t happened yet. Just having your name mentioned along with the Socceroo’s gives me goosebumps and makes me proud and makes me really happy but at the same time we just have to keep performing and fingers crossed it will happen.”
Australian coach Graham Arnold is well aware of what Devlin is capable of and he also knows plenty about the Scottish game, having previously called up players like Tom Rogic, Jackson Irvine and Martin Boyle.
Devlin admits he has a great relationship with 58-year-old Arnold and explained the Aussie boss influenced his Tynecastle move.
“He played a big part in the transfer. We had a chat at the Olympics when I pulled him to the side to ask him what he thought. He has worked with a lot of people who have already played over here and played for Hearts, and he knows a lot of people in and around the game, so I just asked him for his advice.
“I asked as many people as I could what they thought of the move and not one person, including Graham Arnold, had a bad word to say. He just encouraged me and made me more excited about it.”
Devlin was full of praise for his Scotland teammates and revealed there was a special welcome back for John Souttar, who marked his first Scotland cap since 2018 with the opening goal against Denmark.
“There was a big round of applause when Souttar walked in the dressing room,” Devlin smiled.
“He deserves it. Both of them do. It’s such a big win for Scotland and for both of them to be part of it is really so deserved. I’m so happy for them.”
When asked about Craig Gordon’s two clean sheets, Devlin added:
“It was unbelievable. Although it was no surprise to me because I get to see it every day in training. Obviously Craig Gordon has been the No 1 for a while there and the saves he makes are unbelievable and he saves us every week, by stopping a lot of goals going in.
“It’s amazing.. he’s the best keeper I’ve ever worked with and it’s something as a player when I’m receiving the ball off defenders it gives me the comfort to know he’s there. If somebody is having a shot then it gives all of us an extra bit of comfort knowing that he is behind us. We are so lucky to have him. He’s a great player for us and the fans and an even better person.”
“And, Soapy, with everything he’s been through with his injuries, for me coming here and seeing the kind of season he has been having as one of our most consistent players it’s great to see him get the call up and it’s something he thoroughly deserves. Then to score the goal in front of his family, it was just so special. I’m so happy for them both.”
Hearts travel to Fir Park this afternoon to face a Motherwell side that prior to the international break defeated the only side Hearts have lost to this season- Aberdeen.
Earlier in the season Hearts defeated the Steelmen 2-0 at Tynecastle to go top of the cinch Premiership and Devlin was embroiled in a particularly competitive midfield battle with Motherwell’s Callum Slattery, a battle which he is looking forward to restarting in Lanarkshire.
“On the pitch, I think I get a bit of white-line fever,” Devlin laughed. “I swear I’m a good bloke off the pitch. We had a bit of a laugh after the last game, and it will be the same this time.
“It will be a battle, not only with him but with every other player. I’ll do my thing and try to get amongst it. Once the game ends, it’s fine. He is a good guy; I’ve heard he is a nice guy. As long as we get home with three points, that’s all I care about.”
