Hearts midfielder Cammy Devlin says the final day of the Scottish Premiership was ‘unjust’ and the ‘worst day of his career’ after the Edinburgh side were pipped to a historic title away to Celtic in the dying minutes.
Captain Lawrence Shankland, who is reportedly close to a move to boyhood club Rangers, gave the then leaders a 1-0 advantage in the latter stages of the first half, but it was cancelled out in added time of the same period by an Arne Engels penalty.
With a draw still being enough for Hearts, they found themselves off top-spot for the first time since October when Daizen Maeda gave Celtic the lead, before Callum Osmand delivered the killer blow, running through on an open goal after Devlin’s effort from range was intercepted by Iheanacho and goalkeeper Alexander Schwolow had came up for a set-play.
And the Australia international spoke on the anguish this has caused for the first time since Celtic lifted the trophy at Parkhead.
“It was probably one of the worst days of my career, well it was the worst day of my career, in terms of just how disappointing it was” Devlin told official Socceroos channels.
“Unjust is probably a word, we didn’t deserve that and how it ended, and everything.”
The 27-year-old has made the Australia squad for this summer’s World Cup, and he believes being thrown into the setup so soon after the defeat is the best thing for him.
“On a positive side, the best thing for me is that I’m lucky enough to come straight into a camp representing my country. That can change your mindset straight away, and you have no choice but to get back and perform at your highest level.
“That’s been something really good. I feel so lucky I have that opportunity. I feel like if I didn’t have that and went on holiday or back home, it would be really bearing on my mind every minute because of how disappointing it was.
“So lucky to get this opportunity. There’s no bigger carrot at the end of this, so to come in here and have something else to focus on is really good.”
Devlin, who is in the Australia setup alongside Hibernian rivals Martin Boyle and Ante Suto, makes the squad for the second World Cup in a row, and says there is nothing better to try remedy the season gone by.
“It was really tough the first couple of days, just because of how it all happened. Still, there are so many thoughts of what could’ve been different, what should’ve been different.
“I know that’s a lot of feeling with the boys around Hearts, and everyone around the place. A really undeserving finish to an amazing season with such a special club. Everything we did and achieved was incredible.
“Still, not over what happened. But to have this shirt on, and get the chance to train, represent my country, and hopefully at the end of it, go to a World Cup.
“There’s no better thing to look forward to.”
Australia take on Mexico in a pre-World Cup friendly, where they will face Switzerland, Turkiye and hosts USA in Group D.
