Cammy Devlin outlines his fitness for Hearts' Scottish Cup semi-final against Hibs

You can imagine an agitated Cammy Devlin watching last week’s Edinburgh derby from Tynecastle Park’s main stand.

Injured Hearts team-mates Michael Smith and Beni Baningime probably had a task restraining him despite the home side’s 3-1 victory. Fast forward a week and the energetic Australian midfielder is ready to be unleashed on the Scottish Cup semi-final.

He hasn’t kicked a competitive ball for six weeks due to a hamstring problem. The pent-up frustration should ease tomorrow, although Devlin is probably looking at a substitute’s role after last week’s win against the same opponents.

“I was sweating in the crowd. I felt like I was playing just sitting in the stand,” he said in an exclusive Evening News interview. “The Hibs fans were so noisy at the start of the game and then as we got going our supporters made so much noise as well.

Cammy Devlin is available for Hearts after injury.

"I saw what went on behind the scenes last week and how excited the fans were. We won and sealed third place and that kept our momentum going into this week. I didn’t like sitting in the crowd but I’m back now, I feel fit and I feel good.

“I didn’t want to have five weeks off but this is a great chance for us to get to a cup final. What an occasion at Hampden in front of our fans. I can’t wait.”

He even seems to talk at 100 miles an hour. It is an endearing quality of an especially personable player. Feeling privileged to be involved in an all-Edinburgh national cup semi-final, Devlin and compatriot Nathaniel Atkinson are eager to seize their opportunity at Hampden Park.

Hearts will endeavour to record back-to-back derby wins for the first time in modern history, and thus give their supporters more Mount Florida memories.

“You don’t want to do anything differently. We just want to treat it as another game,” continued Devlin. “I’ve never been to Hampden. I’ve spoken to Natty about it and we’re both super excited to be in Scotland’s national stadium.

“The Scottish league is probably underestimated back home. If anyone from back home was sitting at Tynecastle last week, they’d be blown away just by the atmosphere.

“I’ve watched Celtic-Rangers games at Hampden because they are shown back home. I’ve seen Scotland matches there as well. A packed Hampden looks pretty cool. John Souttar scored there for Scotland and we’ve seen Craig Gordon put in his usual ten-out-of-ten performance there.

“Having the opportunity to go there myself and play in a big semi-final is unreal. I’ve been counting down the days.”

Devlin is back in full training and ready to go full throttle. Riccarton staff have tried manfully to rein him in but are probably fighting a losing battle. His infectious enthusiasm is pretty much uninhibitable, especially when you get to this point in the week preceding a cup semi against your club’s biggest rivals.

He is aware that burnout can be a danger when you are only supposed to be easing yourself back in after several weeks out. Yet, when entrusted with a key role on big occasions for Hearts, the diminutive Sydneysider has invariable proven himself a reliable and steady influence.

“The medical staff have been unbelievable with me and all the injured boys over the last few weeks,” he explained. “I've been lucky with injuries generally but the medical staff have calmed me down. I’ve been trying to do that little bit more and push it when maybe I shouldn’t be.

“The gaffer spoke to me to check how I’m feeling. They didn’t put any pressure on me. If your body feels well you're ready to go. I’ll control my emotions when I’m out there at the weekend.

“Even if I was on crutches I’d probably still say I was okay to play. That’s just the truth – I feel good. It’s just so nice to be back out there with the boys, get the banter going and get my foot on the ball.”

He timed his return well. Not only does Saturday’s tie carry the carrot of a cup final place against either Celtic or Rangers, it has enormous European connotations for Hearts.

A win for Robbie Neilson’s men would guarantee a Europa League play-off place with the winner progressing to the tournament’s group stage. The loser would parachute into the Europa Conference League groups. It would be win-win for Hearts, generating income of around £3million even before a ticket was sold or a point won.

Devlin is still taking all of this in since arriving in Scotland last August. He is entitled to pinch himself at the prospect of being catapulted from Australia’s A-League into European competition inside 12 months.

“It is a bit of unknown. I came here knowing how big a club Hearts are and the opportunities that can come your way here if you perform. I jumped into the unknown and was fortunate to join a team doing so well when I arrived,” he said.

“We’ve kept the momentum going through the season. Now we are one game away from a cup final at Hampden. It’s a massive occasion. We’ve performed in big games this season so we will treat this like any other match, even with so much at stake.”

And has the hamstring been properly tested yet? “I’ve been doing running and now training sessions this week. It's such a relief to be back.”

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