It has been a ‘surreal’ week for Nicky Devlin.
The Aberdeen full-back scored the equaliser in a dramatic 3-2 win over Hearts on Sunday night, with the Pittodrie crowd bouncing as the Dons’ extended their winning run to a remarkable 13 games.
To add to that, the 30-year-old received his first-ever Scotland call-up as Steve Clarke drafts in several new faces amid a defensive injury crisis.
Now Devlin – who spent his summer in Germany with the Tartan Army – will link up with the national squad for the upcoming Nations League clashes with Portugal and Croatia.
Asked to sum up his week, Devlin said: “It has been brilliant to be fair, those are the only words to describe it.
“It has also been a bit surreal. If you are a football player, then this is the kind of level you want to get to.
“The call-up was brilliant, but my focus was on the Hearts game, and we managed to win, which was brilliant.”
The former Livingston captain says being told of his Scotland call-up was “bit of a surreal moment.”
“I had joked with my wife about being called up,” he said. “Now I have, I just want one cap. Get me on to the park at one point. It would mean everything.
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“You are representing your country, and it is a dream. It is the dream of millions of people to be in this position. I won’t take it for granted and I hope to get on the park.”
He added: “For me, I just concentrate on myself and the team. I know if I am not playing well for the team and Aberdeen aren’t doing well then you are not going to be there.
“The first focus was: can we start winning games again at the start of the season? We kept winning and winning and you obviously put yourself in the window where the manager can notice you.
“If I had said come September or October, I want to be in the Scotland squad then I would be lying. When you start the season as well as we have it becomes a possibility. I have managed to get in this time.”
It has not been an easy road for Devlin, who came close to quitting football altogether ten years ago after he was released from Stenhousemuir by then-manager Scott Booth. But he discovered a new lease of life at Ayr United, taking on the captaincy at Somerset Park before securing a move to England with League One side Walsall.
Devlin then went on to sign for Livingston in the Scottish top-flight, where he spent two of his four years as team captain. In 2023, he became Barry Robson’s first signing as then-Aberdeen boss, joining the Dons on a two-year deal that summer.
A journey to be proud of 📈
— Aberdeen FC (@AberdeenFC) October 1, 2024
Under Swedish head coach Jimmy Thelin, who took the reins in June, it has been a remarkable start to the season for Aberdeen who sit level on points with last year’s champions Celtic, with the two going head-to-head at Celtic Park straight after the international break.
“I have never won this many games in my career before,” Devlin said. “At Livingston we went 14 games unbeaten, the year we got to the cup final, but it was win after win.
“There were maybe a few draws. The amount of wins we have had has been phenomenal.”
He added: “Last week the focus was on can we beat Hearts and go into the Celtic game level on points with them? Now, I have two massive games before that. The manager has said that we will take it one match at a time now.
“My next focus is Croatia and hopefully I can get on the park and play. It is a big two weeks for me personally.
“We take confidence from the way we started the season and the way we ended the last one. We were unlucky not to win every game after the split because we drew the last game.
"We are in good form and there is a lot of confidence throughout the side. We know we can be better.
“There have been times where we could have been better, but we manage to find a way. Listen, we can be rubbish at Celtic Park but if we can find a way then I would take that!”
