Cammy Devlin answers question on Hearts challenging Celtic and Rangers

A brilliant player at Rugby Park, midfielder Cammy Devlin talked candidly about Hearts’ chances in Europe and his attempt to break into the Glasgow duopoly. They played football on the group stage in the 2022–2023 season, however they were not present this year. They will soon be going back to that arena.

“Every year, Hearts’ objective is to play European football at the group stage,” stated Devlin. “We got it the first season I was here.” We also reached the cup final. It’s clear that we failed last year. We’re talking about a huge sum of money, so pay attention. That says it everything, but success is also a factor. It’s up to us to deliver and perform that.

“You should be breaking into Europe and the group stage at a club like Hearts.” We are now pretty near. Sadly, we didn’t have the victory on Saturday to prove it, but we’re still extremely near. All we have to do is complete it, and maybe the following year we might reach even greater heights.

I really believe that the club has to start making that kind of money. It offers a plethora of players. You will draw crowds if you perform in Europe. The fans participate in it. We’ve lost to the Rangers both times we’ve visited Hampden this year, which has been really sad. However, even though we lost 2-0 last weekend, I thought we were near. On the pitch, it seemed to be close. We performed well on the pitch.

It’s about working as hard as we can each and every day to get there, or as near as we can. We enter every game with the intention of winning. It makes no difference who we compete against. Great if we can pull that off. However, aren’t Celtic and Rangers both very large football teams? We’re just attempting to get as near as we can, and I think we’re headed in the right direction.

This season’s home and away victories over Celtic indicate that Hearts can occasionally reach that level. Hey, that’s what I mean,” Devlin continued. As a football team, we want to attempt to do it as much as we can. Since our club is so big, I feel like going and challenging these guys is something we should be doing.

The 25-year-old has had mixed results in a season marred by injuries. In a slightly different capacity, Saturday’s performance was perhaps his best domestic effort to far. Devlin, who was asked to play as an advanced midfielder, constantly broke through Kilmarnock’s defence and created a great deal of issues. He also struck the crossbar with a shot from outside the penalty area in the first half.

“I kind of took the ball off Beni’s feet when it was cut back.” In any case, he probably wouldn’t have shot,” the Australian chuckled. They didn’t really try to stop me or pressurise me, so I figured I’d give it a shot. I noticed the back stick when I looked up. To be honest, I thought it was just a drop in. Regretfully, no, but I think that my entry into those roles is a good thing. We thought there might be room in behind when their centre backs emerged. That was something that [Jorge] Granty and I did. I was able to enter the area a couple times, and you could see it behind.

“This season has been ups and downs for me personally. I believe I got off to a good start and was probably playing the best football I have since joining the team. I thought I was playing consistently, making excellent progress with the team, and not getting hurt. After that, I was out for a few weeks and sustained an injury during our match against Kilmarnock.

“I believe I was absent for around three and a half months. That totally throws you off. I feel like I’m starting to play well again and have gained confidence over the last several weeks. My goal is to have a successful season finale. I simply have the mentality that I want to play every game. I have a strong desire to succeed.

In the upcoming months, further European involvement would undoubtedly help quench that thirst for advancement. In the past two years, fans of the Hearts have celebrated in Latvia, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Switzerland, and Norway. Assuming that their team finishes in third place in the league, they will need to organise at least four further adventures.

First and foremost, the away days were fantastic for all of us—the players, the supporters, and the club overall. Devlin grinned. “I can just picture myself being in the crowd.” “My friends had an amazing day at Fiorentina. Going abroad to watch the team you support play with your friends sounds like a great idea, in my opinion.

Playing in such iconic stadiums as PAOK and Florence was an amazing experience for me as a player. losing to Riga in a game. Winning in Europe is a huge accomplishment for Hearts. It’s not easy, but we want to routinely make it to the European group stage; it’s something we kind of expect every year. It is a very challenging league.

You travel to locations like Kilmarnock, where despite our best efforts, we were unable to win. Thus, the goal is to prevail in these kinds of games in order to facilitate our lives.Indeed, I am eager to return to the group stages as it’s an excellent experience and a fantastic platform for performance.

“You’re up against competitive squads. In the following season, Fiorentina advanced to the final and was defeated. You want to push yourself even if you’re up against extremely strong teams. These are the types of games you want to play in as a football player, much like you play the Old Firm here and those European matches: Large audiences, fantastic environments, and a fantastic stage on which to go and perform with your friends is all you need to show off your daily efforts.

We simply can’t wait to return there and hopefully do much better. Still, it’s not finished. It’s nearly there. It’s about bringing it to a close. I believe that the Scottish games will be different when we return, therefore you’ll have to adapt and having that busy schedule is just class. Fingers crossed we can get there.”