Devlin has made eight appearances since joining the Nix from Sydney FC in the summer and has played the full 90 minutes during the last three games. The Australian native struggled for minutes but came in as a replacement for Alex Rufer, and Devlins head coach Ufuk Talay has backed the midfielder to keep getting better as the 2019/2020 campaign goes on.
“Yeah Cammy’s been good ever since he came in,” he said. “For me, he’s like an established 30-year-old player the way he plays his game.”
Talay’s praise is important as Devlin looks to make a career in the game for himself. With only three starts in his professional career at the age of 21, the Black and Yellow starlet needs minutes to improve and develop and it looks like hell get that in New Zealand.
Encouraging start
“He’s been very good,” praised the head coach. “For me it’s great to have that depth in the squad and that headache as a coach over who to start and who to play. For me, he’s done very well since he’s come in and I just think he’ll continue and get better.”
Rufer will be available for the Central Coast Mariners game on Saturday and whether or not Devlin is picked ahead of the 23-year-old will be a massive insight into where Talay places the pair in his pecking order.
Talay rates the youngster highly but he also values consistency and Rufer has been part of the initial success of the side. The Central Coast Mariners have only won three games this season and the head coach could see them as the ideal opponents to ease Rufer back to full fitness against.
But with three excellent 90 minutes, Devlin deserves to hold his place in the side.