'I feared for my Portsmouth future': How forgotten man fought back to be a Blues revelation
Terry Devlin has revealed how he feared for his Pompey future during a ‘tough’ Fratton Park period.
Now the youngster has secured a dramatic return to the first-team and delivered a string of energetic performances to impress the Blues faithful.
Following the arrivals of Freddie Potts and Mark O’Mahony on season-long loans, Devlin found himself jettisoned from John Mousinho’s first-team squad just three weeks into the season.
His period in the stands spanned six matches, with no room in the Blues’ 20-man match-day squad, despite a string of injuries.
However, after Zak Swanson picked up a heel problem, the Northern Ireland Under-21 international surprisingly found himself back in from the cold for last month’s trip to QPR.
Since then the former forgotten man has been a revelation at right-back.
Devlin told The News: ‘I had a month or so when it was tough.
‘I came out of the squad for the Sunderland game (in August) and was just training and working as hard as I could to get back into the team. Thankfully I returned to the squad for QPR and then came on.
‘Football changes so quickly, you just have to be ready. There are moments which go through your head when you think “I’m going” or “I’ll not get back into the side”. It’s just about staying positive.
‘Nobody wants to be left out of the squad, but you can be disappointed - and need to get past that.
‘It’s easy to be motivated, you’re training every day and getting to play football every day, so it’s about having a good mindset, remaining positive.
‘I spoke with the gaffer and he explained how it’s not a bad thing being left out, just keep working hard like you do and your chance will come.
‘Then we picked up a few knocks, Jordan Williams came off injured at Cardiff, and I’m obviously the next in line to go in there. I just had to be ready and just take it in my stride. Hopefully I can keep on a run in the team now.’
Following his return against QPR, Devlin has featured in six successive matches, including three starts, demonstrating eye-catching form recognised with several man-of-the-match accolades.
What’s more, his infectious enthusiasm has helped reinvigorate Pompey’s performance levels, with two wins in that period.
The 21-year-old added: ‘I am a young lad, so I need to bring energy as a quality. As I get older, I will obviously get more quality, so I just need to keep my energy up.
‘You need a few players like that around, Langy is unbelievable at it as well, he runs non-stop for 90 minutes and drives the team on, which the fans love.
‘He gives his all for the shirt and I try to do the same, I enjoy being that type of player, I enjoy that side of the game.’