Cammy Devlin explains arguing with Hearts captain Lawrence Shankland

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The aftermath of Conference League defeat in Denmark

The sight of Lawrence Shankland and Cammy Devlin exchanging frank views inside Parken Stadium on Thursday perhaps underlined Hearts’ frustration. Fingers were pointed and voices raised during the 2-0 Conference League defeat against FC Copenhagen, although Devlin stressed it was all a misunderstanding.

The diminutive Australian bounced the ball in frustration after play was halted by the Italian referee Andrea Colombo, and Shankland reacted strongly. He and Devlin became embroiled in a heated exchange for a few moments, with the midfielder looking somewhat bemused by his captain’s anger.

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“Hey, I know. We were laughing,” said Devlin. “We were arguing about a complete misunderstanding. He thought I was throwing the ball because he didn't get it. But I was throwing the ball because I didn't hit him with the pass. We've kissed and made up in there. We're out there. We're losing. We both want to win. You can see how hard we all try.

“At the end of the day, if you don't see that, then you'd probably start asking questions as to why we’re not getting into each other. But it's only passion. We both just want to win for the team. We've kissed and made up. It was just a misunderstanding. We were arguing about completely different things.

“He thought I was going long but I tried to play him and I missed the pass. And then I got angry at myself because I missed the pass. He thought I was angry at him for not getting it. That's just football. I feel like you've got to be passionate. You've got to yell at your team-mates. If they do well, get into them. If they do bad, get into them. Because they say you get the best out of each other. We're fine. We could argue properly and then get in there and have a hug and a kiss and we'd be fine.”

Goals by Amin Chiakha and a Kevin Diks penalty earned Copenhagen an important win for their aspirations of Conference League progress. Devlin found himself doing a lot of chasing in midfield against the experienced Thomas Delaney. He then approached the Danish internationalist for a shirt-swap at full-time. “Because I couldn't get near him all night,” laughed the Hearts player. “My dad's got a good collection at home, so I'll have to give that to him.

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“Sometimes you've just got to hold your hand up and give respect to the opposition. I think, to put it nicely, they were probably the better team and deserved to win on the night. We hung in there, we knew what we were up against. They were a top-class team, played Champions League last year, so we were up against the giants of football.

“We had a gameplan and, to be completely honest, for 45 minutes it worked. They had a few chances. We had one big chance to hit the crossbar, but it worked. When you concede three or four minutes into the second half, it's an uphill battle. Like I said, they're a really good side.”

Devlin ranked Thursday evening as one of the highest-profile games of his Hearts career. “Yeah, they're super players,” he said. “I was saying to some of the young boys there that I've been here for three years now and, when you think of some of the big nights at Fiorentina, Thursday is definitely up there. When you're playing against these players, just enjoy it. Give everything you've got, obviously, and do everything you can, but just enjoy it.

“These are special. You look over and you've got 3,000-odd fans just at the end clapping us and we've just lost. You've got to enjoy these nights. It was tough. The gaffer said at half-time, they've got the ball. Just enjoy it. Find enjoyment in running about and winning the ball back.

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“We did in the first half, because you get around each other and you're coming in at 0-0. You know that in football there's going to be one or two chances where you get a corner and you've got to take them. But like I said, when you concede three or four minutes in, it's an uphill battle. They had some top-class players.

“I think they were so disciplined. They've obviously got great individual players, but I think as a team they were class. Credit to them, you've just got to accept it sometimes. We went down swinging and I think you can't fault, once again, the effort and the enthusiasm and everything. It's just they have more quality.”

Attention turns to league business at Kilmarnock on Sunday, but next Thursday’s final Conference League tie against Petrocub at Tynecastle is at the back of players’ minds. It is a fixture carrying huge significance as Hearts will almost certainly progress to the tournament’s knockout round play-off if they beat the Moldovans.

“You have to look at it positively. It hasn't been a great start to the season by any stretch,” acknowledged Devlin. “We're nowhere near where we want to be in the league. We haven't got a result in our last three conference games. First and foremost, Sunday is all we think about now. We need to get a result and start climbing up that table. I think that goes without saying. Then we'll look to Thursday when we're at home.

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“More than likely, if we win, we will go through. You have to be confident. We're at home. All the home games we've had, we've done really well. Look at Heidenheim, another great team, but I feel in the first half if we score our chances we probably go in 2-0 up at half-time and you never know. It's about picking ourselves up like we have had to do a lot this season. Just be men.

“When you're at a club like Hearts, I've said it before, you have to stand up in these moments. You're not walking away with your tail between your legs as such because of the calibre of opposition, I feel anyway. I feel like we did everything we could and probably got beat by a better team.”

In mid-December, there is still the prospect of a successful season if Hearts can build momentum in the weeks ahead. “Absolutely,” said Devlin. “I think you have to look at it like that or you will start falling into your shell. You can't because, see if we win next week, that's the furthest I've come [in Europe]. I'm sure it’s the same for a lot of boys.

“Craig Gordon has played so many games. I'm not sure he's ever got through the round of 16. We've got a chance next Thursday, too. It's all up to us. We're at home. Like the gaffer said, it's our home, it's our fortress. I'm sure there will be no tickets left come the start of that game. It's about us just taking that game to them. But like I said, first and foremost is Sunday.”

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The prospect of not getting through after winning the first two Conference League ties does not bear thinking about. “It would be really disappointing,” admitted Devlin. “I just want to focus on Sunday because we have to get a result in that game. After that, it would be really disappointing. But say we get a result Sunday and win Thursday, then the questions are different and everything starts to feel good again. It's about us. It's easy to speak and a lot of this season has been saying this and that. It's about: ‘Come on, boys. Let's go and do it.’”

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