'Isn't spoke about enough’: Hearts talisman reveals Tynecastle potion that is spearheading immortality dream
Hearts talismanic midfielder hails impact of Derek McInnes
Hearts’ talismanic midfielder Cammy Devlin says his Tynecastle teammates have developed a special potion which can help end the club’s 65-year wait for a league title.
The 27-year-old midfielder had missed the last nine games due to a hamstring injury, but returned to the starting line-up alongside captain Lawrence Shankland at the weekend as the table toppers defeated Dundee 1-0 thanks to Oisin McEntee’s 77th-minute header.
Their title credentials questioned after the 1-0 defeat to Kilmarnock the weekend prior, the result at Tynecastle maintains Hearts’ three-point lead over Rangers at the top of the table, with defending champions Celtic five points behind in third. With just seven games left to play, Devlin has urged his teammates to lean on their togetherness as they approach the final stretch.
“Getting back out on the weekend made all the hard work with it,” he told Premier Sports. “The win made it all that more special. I felt okay. I was actually a little bit angry when I was taken off. But when I was taken off, we scored straight away, so I said to the gaffer 'what a great sub!' - get me off quicker if that's what it's going mean.
"The rehab was really tough. The two weeks before leading into the was the hardest part with the runs. The physically of your body was really put to the test. I only had a few sessions before returning to the play, but the gaffer asked me if I wanted to play and no professional is ever going to say no that.
“Everyone probably hated me there [in the physio room] - including Shanks [Shankland]. I was a pain in the a**e to be honest! I needed a few stern words to keep me in place, with trying to get back early. I learnt the hard way. You can't force these things, your injury will tell you when you're ready. But having your mates in and around you definitely helps. Being alone in there would be tough, especially the position that we're in, you're so desperate to be involved. Having Shanks together with me, similar return to play times, reaching goals together, that helped.
“It's something that isn't spoke enough about in football. Just having a bunch of people that are all together, no egos - non of that it. It's something that is hard to come by in a dressing room. I wake up every day, excited to go to work, and see my mates. Having that time off, being away from the grass, you definitely don't take it for granted. We have such a good group. Claudio Braga paid for our Christmas do. Hearts is a great place to be at the moment, and we are so focused on one goal and hopefully we can reach it.”
The Australian midfielder also revealed why the dressing room has responded so well to Derek McInnes’ style of management following his summer arrival from Kilmarnock. The 54-year-old has lost just five of his 31 league games in charge in Gorgie, leading the side to the cusp of immortality on the maroon side of the capital.
"Being the manager of Hearts is a hard gig to come into,” said Devlin. “There's so much expectation the expectation and there’s the big hitters who you are challenging - especially after last year. The one thing he has done, alongside all the new players, is that he's brought Hearts back to the way they should look. I'm sure fans are waking up on a Saturday and really looking forward to seeing their team play. That's down to the manager. He's the leader. It's down to him.
“Football is emotional. Fans, players, coaches are all the same. We are all fighting for one goal. People can say whatever, I don't read or look at any of it because it doesn't effect the result on a Saturday afternoon. You can get sucked into things that are probably unimportant, and they can effect you. But you just got to try and stay away from that, we are in an amazing position and we've just got to relish it.”
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