'I love it': Portsmouth's popular super sub embraces unique role in John Mousinho's plans
The Northern Ireland international made his fifth substitute outing of the season in win over Middlesbrough
Terry Devlin shrugged off his substitute stigma and insisted: I love it.
The energetic Irishman made his fifth outing from the bench this season in Pompey’s 1-0 victory over Championship leaders Middlesbrough.
John Mousinho had previously described the 21-year-old as his ‘first choice on the bench’, with Devlin still awaiting his maiden league start this season.
Certainly being deemed as an automatic choice among the substitutes rather than a starting XI contender could understandably frustrate many players.
Yet the Northern Ireland international views his ongoing situation as a positive rather than a reason to be unhappy.
‘It does me a favour, it means the gaffer trusts me’
Devlin told The News: ‘One of the coaches mentioned to me about the gaffer saying I am first choice on the bench. It doesn't bother me, I just keep my head down and keep working hard.
‘I love it to be fair, it does me a favour, it means the gaffer trusts me and he can stick me on whenever he wants.
‘Then again, it’s up to me to push further and push for that starting place, but, for the minute, I am happy to contribute and help the lads out.
‘I don’t find it frustrating, everyone wants to start games, but, as long as I am getting on and able to help the team, that’s all that matters. If the team wins, that’s the most important thing.
‘On Saturday, the manager wanted me to be solid, track runners and work hard, just everything he expects from me and I’m happy to see out the win.
‘Obviously the lads put us 1-0 up and the last thing I want to do is come on and ruin that for them. So the most important thing was coming on and being really switched on, getting the job done.’
Introduced at right-back against Middlesbrough
Devlin replaced the impressive Jordan Williams at right-back in the 64th minute against Middlesbrough.
His energy and strong running down the flank certainly helped Pompey’s attempts to avoid defending deep with no outlet to drag the game up the other end of the pitch.
Certainly the introduction of Devlin enabled them to do just that, much to the delight of the Fratton faithful, who continue to hold the youngster in high regard.
With his help, the Blues held on to register a third win of the campaign, lifting them into 13th in the Championship as Middlesbrough slipped down to second place following a maiden defeat.
Devlin: Massive for us
And Devlin was impressed with how his team-mates handled the high-flying Boro to claim a result which would have surprised a few in the league.
He added: ‘What a win, top of the league and unbeaten, it was a really good starting point coming into the game, if we could turn them over and take that run off them it would be massive for us.
‘We were really good defensively, we knew we were going to have to give up the ball at times and defend the box - and I thought we did that really well.’