If there was one significant disappointment at Tannadice on Friday night, it was Cammy Devlin, for sure. The Australian international shone like a beacon during that brilliant season for Hearts. Then came a promising preseason. He appeared to have the energy and hunger that Rangers fans wanted to see from their midfield. However, Devlin reverted to exactly what we had been seeing from our own midfield when he took to the pitch in Tayside. Cammy Devlin didn’t deliver.
Devlin looked out of his depth
Put simply, after a slightly energetic opening ten minutes, he struggled. Devlin looked a little out depth in the shirt even if his numbers were actually alright. He really struggled to make any kind of impact on this match. The match essentially passed him by. Therefore, it was no surprise when McInnes removed him later in the second half.
Put simply, there is a complete chasm between playing for Hearts and delivering for them, and doing so for Rangers. The pressure in Govan is a completely different animal. Devlin said all the right things during preseason about giving everything and showing hunger and desire for the shirt. However, when the competitive action actually started, he looked more meek.
McInnes’ tactics did not help
In all fairness, Derek McInnes’ tactics may not have helped there. Rangers’ system appeared to have no identity. The system around the midfield did not help it either. Devlin certainly suffered because of that. However, ultimately, he did not deliver on his own terms either.
After a madcap opening ten minutes, all that hunger appeared to be there. However, he then disappeared and the game passed him by. Fans would not have expected to see that from such an energetic midfield terrier.
Preseason offered little accuracy
Of course, it is very, very early days and he has every chance to make things better. However, it just shows how little accuracy there actually is in preseason. A player can look like a hungry little terrier and be all over Saint Étienne or West Ham. However, it is quite different when the action reaches 100 miles an hour during competitive Premiership matches.
This is why Ibrox Noise was extremely cautious, at best, about making any conclusions based on preseason. We never really do. It is not until the competitive action starts that we can maybe begin to judge a little bit. Devlin did not match his preseason vigour, without any doubt.
Devlin must improve
These are early days and we hope that he settles in better than that. However, at this moment, he was definitely a disappointment on his competitive debut and Cammy Devlin didn’t deliver.