Mikey Devlin, who suffered major setbacks during his footballing career, spoke to Football Voices about his struggles and his time at Aberdeen and his Scotland debut.
Devlin began his career at Hamilton Academical and had a few loan spells at Stenhousemuir. However, the former Hamilton defender faced several challenges throughout his career, including multiple injuries, such as ACL tears.
Devlin tore his ACL on two separate occasions, which caused significant setbacks and contributed to his mental health struggles.
Speaking to Football Voices, Devlin said: “It was tough, don’t get me wrong, but probably the move came at the perfect time in that sense. I had setbacks during it, but weirdly, my dad’s birthday is on the 24th of November, and I had a setback with the second ACL injury, which meant I needed another operation.”
He added: “I had a tidy-up operation, and I had re-torn my meniscus in my knee. So, I had to go back down to London to get another tidy-up, which meant I was basically off my feet. I had three or four weeks where I had to let that settle while trying to rehabilitate the ACL, but that was fine.”
Devlin then suffered another injury while in the gym after feeling low on his dad’s birthday, having already experienced another setback.
Speaking about the gym accident, he said: “I was just doing some upper-body work in the gym. It was the 24th of November, my dad’s birthday, and I’d started to feel that I was getting a bit low. I was disappointed with this setback, and I remember being in the gym by myself. I thought, right, to cheer my dad up on his birthday, I would send him a video. I was back at home at this point.”
He added: “So, I recorded a video to send to him while I was doing an upper-body session. I don’t know why it happened to me. I didn’t even think that would happen. I recorded the video, went to do a set of bench presses and ruptured my chest. My pec was hanging on by a thread.
“I remember being really devastated by this, and I got to the point where I said that if I went for a scan and it came back saying I needed surgery, I was going to retire. If the scan showed a full rupture that required surgery, I was going to retire.”
Following this major setback, Derek McInnes, who was Aberdeen manager at the time, came in for Devlin and offered him a three-and-a-half-year deal. A month later, Devlin was told he would not need surgery, helping him get over the line and continue his career.
Working Under Derek McInnes at Aberdeen
When asked what it was like working under McInnes, Devlin said: “All right, we had our ups and downs. It was never plain sailing for me and Del (McInnes), but he was a winner. I think we still see that now with Del. He went on to bring Kilmarnock back to the Premier League. He was a proven winner at Aberdeen, came very close to doing something incredibly special at Hearts last season and was very, very unlucky towards the end of last season.
“Looking at the way Rangers are right now, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him go on to win the league as well. Del was a winner at Hearts. He found a way to win all the time, and that demand extended to the players. We knew what it was like to win, and when we played for a cup at Aberdeen, the expectation was that you won. That was something I thrived on.”
He also said: “Every day was important. The way we trained, the way we lived, the way we played — everything was about winning, and I loved that part of it.”
Scotland Call-Up and International Debut
Devlin received his first Scotland call-up during his time at Pittodrie, eventually making his international debut against Russia.
Speaking about the experience, Devlin said: “That was incredible. It was very, very special. I think I had nearly played before, having been in a couple of squads previously. We played Belgium at home, and I think Andy (Andrew Robertson) said to me during the warm-up, ‘You were this close to playing today.’
“I think Stevie (Steve Clarke) had considered switching to a back three. We played a back four, but he had been thinking about playing a back three and putting me in the middle of it.”
The Scotland international added: “The next camp, I think it was in October, they named the team the day before in the hotel. We travelled to Russia, and we had done a bit of shape work at home before travelling. It looked like I was playing. I was named in the team and was starting.
“Unfortunately, the only slight downside was that the game was in Russia, and my mum and dad weren’t able to be there. It was too short notice for my family to make it. Fortunately, the next game in that camp was at home, and all my family were able to be there for that.
“So, to this day, that moment will always stay with me.”
View the full video down below:
