Best of my career: Stunned Terry Devlin thanks Portsmouth faithful after landslide victory
The 22-year-old scooped up 15 Player of the Season awards, as voted by Blue supporters
Terry Devlin hailed the best season of his career after adding an armful of silverware to the many, many plaudits.
The injured right-back was presented with The News/Sports Mail’s Player of the Season before kick-off against Birmingham after polling 57 cent per cent of the vote.
Indeed, the Northern Ireland international swept the board in the end-of-season accolades, remarkably totalling all 17 trophies up for grabs.
It wasn’t until November before the 22-year-old made his first Championship start of the campaign, going on to total 40 appearances and score five times.
Now Devlin has joined the likes of Alan Biley, Noel Blake, Alan McLoughlin, Guy Whittingham, Alan Knight, Peter Crouch, David James, Michael Doyle and team-mates Marlon Pack, Colby Bishop and Josh Murphy on The News/Sports Mail trophy.
‘I’ve improve all-round as a player’
He told The News: ‘It's obviously really nice to get the recognition. I’ve had a look at the trophy, there are some big names on there, so to be included with those players is special.
‘I’ve had a decent season, obviously it was better than the last one. Every year you come into pre-season, you just want to be better than the previous and it has been a good season. Now I’m looking forward to the next.
‘I've improved all round as a player, physically, getting used to the pace and the tempo of the league and technically. I’ve also added a few goals to my game.
‘With games comes experience, so definitely playing regularly has helped. It’s a relentless league, so you’ve got to learn quickly, the more you play the better.
‘It has been a short career for me so far, but it’s definitely the best season I’ve had. Hopefully I have a few more years to top it.’
Missed final three matches through injury
Devlin’s season ended early after sustaining a hamstring injury against Leicester City, ruling him out of the final three matches.
In his absence, Pompey retained their Championship status and went on to finish in 18th position - seven points above the relegation zone.
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Their season ended on Saturday with a 1-1 draw as top-scorer Adrian Segecic took his tally to 11 in an impressive maiden year in the English game.
Yet despite his eye-catching campaign, it was Devlin who dominated The News’ Player of the Season vote, with the Irishman also collecting another 13 from Pompey supporter clubs and winning the club vote at the End of Season awards, plus the Players’ Player of the Season and Goal of the Season.
And with Pompey again remaining in the Championship, it marked a successful season in Devlin’s eyes.
He added: ‘The fans have been there all season with us, through the good times and bad.
‘At times we probably didn’t deserve them, but I’m just glad for this fanbase that we could get it over the line and keep in the Championship.’