The ‘unintentional’ Portsmouth hero now emerging as genuine Championship contender

The Northern Ireland prospect capped his third second-tier start with a man-of-the-match performance in the massive 3-1 win over Preston.

It’s a mightily impressive return for Devlin after failing to make six squads on the spin this term, backing up sound showings against Sheffield Wednesday and Hull by helping his team off the bottom of the table.

Devlin’s switch to right-back was a move not too many saw coming, but the 21-year-old has excelled there with Zak Swanson sidelined and Jordan Williams still recovering from a hamstring issue.

But Mousinho has now tipped the former Glentoran man to grow in his new home, as he looks more than adept at Championships level.

He said: ‘I think he has a very high ceiling at right-back. There’s loads he needs to be better at, which he knows and will take on board.

‘But one of the things we know about Terry is, from the moment he stepped into the building here, is he has that willingness to improve.

‘I spoke to Terry when we brought him out for the Plymouth game.

‘I told him we wanted to freshen things up and has a front-line full-back in Jordan Williams to come in.

‘I told him he’d done magnificently well to take himself from being out of the squad to being back in it.

‘For a young kid who hasn’t played a huge amount of Championship football, to come in and play as well as he has at right-back against Sheffield Wednesday, Hull and Preston in big tests is magnificent.

‘Oh yes (he was unlucky to lose spot against Plymouth), I thought Terry was good against Hull.

‘When you’ve got options like we have, even if it’s not completely intentional in terms of Terry being a right-back, we can have Jordan come on for half an hour against Hull and give us that energy.

‘Terry can come on for half an hour against Plymouth and give us that energy. He’s been really good.’

Devlin was recruited last year for around £90,000 with the under-21 international making his name on Northern Ireland in the middle of the park.

Mousinho hasn’t shut the door on the County Tyrone talent operating in that area of the pitch, but feels his focus now is firmly on the right-back role.

He added: ‘I still think he’s got flexibility.

‘In the system we’re playing at the moment there’s not a natural position for Terry, who I feel is more of an eight. What I think he should do is grasp this with both hands, keep going and make it his own spot.’