'I think he's...' - Portsmouth legend shares reluctant Terry Devlin verdict after performance against QPR
Terry Devlin’s reputation as a fans’ favourite continues to grow at Pompey with the young Northern Irish man leading by example at Fratton Park
Terry Devlin has been called Pompey’s most improved player.
That’s the reluctant, honest verdict of Blues legend Guy Whittingham, who believes the young Northern Ireland international has been a shining light for John Mousinho’s Championship strugglers ever since he was handed his first start of the season against Wrexham on November 11.
Up until that point, the former Glentoran midfielder had made only nine league appearances as a substitute and accumulated just 149 minutes of second-tier football as his status as a first-team fringe player continued into a third campaign.
But fast forward just six-and-a-half weeks and the 22-year-old has established himself not just as a first-team regular, but also probably one of the first names on the team sheet - as Mousinho’s first-choice right-back!
Indeed, Devlin’s started nine out of the Blues’ past 10 games, with his only absence from the starting XI coming against Bristol City following his red card for handball against Sheffield United; he’s currently Pompey’s second top-scorer with three goals after his double against Hull and his opener in Friday’s 1-1 draw against QPR; while the Cookstown-born ace has found himself rubbing shoulders with the division’s elite following numerous Championship team-of-the-week selections.
It’s left fellow right-backs Zak Swanson and Jordan Williams having to fight it out for a place in the team at left-back in the continued absence of injured duo Connor Ogilvie and Jacob Farrell.
And according to Whittingham, there’s nothing to suggest that’s a scenario that will change any time soon, with fan-favourite Devlin consistently showing the type of passion and endeavour the Fratton faithful love to see.
Whittingham shares thoughts on Devlin progress
Whittingham was hesitant to call Devlin Pompey’s most improved player, given it’s a title often handed out to those operating at youth-team levels of the game.
Yet it was the perfect summary of a player who arrived from Irish League football in 2023 for an undisclosed fee, had initially struggled to nail down a place in the team, and had been deployed as a utility man out of neccessity rather than design - despite being hugely admired by Mousinho.
His stock rose further following his excellently-taken goal in the 1-1 draw with the R’s at Fratton Park and another stand-out performance, leading Whittingham to tell BBC Radio Solent: ‘He’s wholehearted, the endeavour he’s got inside him to not be beaten, to get on the end of things, to make a run, to block players...
‘I think he’s.... (and it’s) a bit unfair for me to say, Pompey’s most improved player - because those are the sort of awards you get when you are under-15, under-16 and even an under-nine-year-old.
‘But I think he’s showing at the moment that, despite having two other right-backs in the squad, they’re having to play left-back because he ain’t giving up that right-back position.’