Cammy Devlin has spoken for the first time since joining Rangers, revealing the emotional toll of navigating a contract dispute while representing Australia at the World Cup. The 28-year-old midfielder left Hearts after the Edinburgh club were pipped to the Scottish title by Celtic on the final day of the season — a result Devlin described as “devastating” — before flying out to join the Australia squad just three days later.
“The game was on the Saturday and I flew out to the World Cup on the Tuesday,” Devlin said. “It was devastating, but I didn’t have much time to reflect on how last season ended and then straight into the World Cup, which is one of the most special moments of your career.” Despite the excitement of the tournament, Devlin admitted being off-contract made it difficult to stay focused. “It was too stressful. It was hard just being in the moment being at the World Cup and dealing with all that and the noise around it, and my dad asking me every day what’s going on.”
Devlin failed to add to his five Australia caps at the tournament, and a week after their last-32 defeat by Egypt, Hearts confirmed he would not be signing a new contract. Rangers announced his capture the following day. The sequence of events was shaped significantly by Derek McInnes, who had moved from Hearts to become Rangers manager — switching from trying to persuade Devlin to stay at Tynecastle one week to recruiting him to Ibrox the next.
“Everyone knows the relationship I have with the gaffer where we are super close and he was so good for me at Hearts,” Devlin said. “When the opportunity came, it was one that was too good to pass up.” The midfielder acknowledged it was still “a hard decision to make” to leave Hearts, adding: “Hearts is such a special football club and I will be forever grateful for giving me the opportunity to play football outside Australia.”
Devlin also reflected on the unfamiliar experience of being out of contract for the first time in his career. “There were obviously other things I had to weigh up with Hearts — I’ve never been in that position where I’ve been off-contract,” he said. He had been considering a new deal with the Edinburgh club amid interest from other parties before McInnes’ move to Rangers ultimately proved the decisive factor in his decision.
Image credit: BBC Sport / BBC Sport
