'One of our best': Portsmouth boss unworried by huge Fratton favourite's form blip
The Northern Ireland international has started 23 of the last 24 games for the Blues
Yet while John Mousinho admits tiredness is likely to have been a factor behind Terry Devlin’s Swans struggles, the Irishman remains ‘the least of my worries’.
The right-back endured a tough evening up against Eom Ji-sung in the 2-1 Fratton Park defeat, with the South Korean international causing plenty of problems, particularly in the first half.
That represented a seventh game in 25 days for the Blues, a gruelling schedule in which four of those matches were on the road.
Mousinho’s men are back in action on Monday night against Derby (8pm), with Devlin seeking to build on an outstanding campaign in which he has featured 33 times and scored on five occasions.
And the head coach has absolutely no qualms over the 22-year-old’s recent form.
‘It just happens’
Mousinho told The News: ‘Terry is one of our best players, he’s one of the first names on the team-sheet. I think he has been outstanding.
‘If you look at any player across there, there's no player who plays 46 games brilliantly across the league in the world. Erling Haaland is getting a bit of stick at the moment, it just happens.
‘I would be surprised if all of the lads aren’t a bit tired, it has been a really difficult schedule, particularly with the rearranged game, those three away matches on the spin.
‘However, it’s never in doubt in terms of what Terry gives us with the energy, the output, the commitment - and he gives us that as a bare minimum.
‘Of the back of that, his performances have been extremely good recently as well, I am really pleased with Terry. He’s great, he’s the least of my worries.’
The Northern Ireland international has started 23 of Pompey’s last 24 games
Devlin hadn’t even started a league match this season before the November visit of Wrexham to Fratton Park.
Ironically, such were the eye-catching levels of performances the Northern Ireland international would subsequently produce after being handed a run in the side, the Red Dragons tabled a reported £2m bid for him in the January window.
Undoubtedly, Devlin is now a leading candidate to be crowned The News/Sports Mail Player of the Season, having started 23 of the last 24 fixtures.
He can be expected to retain his place against the eighth-placed Rams this evening in another huge fixture for the Blues, whose frustrating home form is beginning to hamper their relegation battle.
And while ongoing team injuries prevent the squad being rotated should players require a break, Devlin definitely wouldn't be considered to come out for a breather.
‘It would be tough at the best of times’
Mousinho added: ‘If we were dealing with this with a fully-fit squad it would be tough at the best of times. There's been a lot of occasions through this period where we’ve not had that fully-fit squad.
‘We still haven't, we’ve had a couple of Academy players on the bench on a lot of those occasions.
‘Hopefully, when we get back to that stage where we have a few more back in the building, we can look to rotate that a little more.’
Your Next Pompey Read: 'A real blow': Portsmouth's forgotten signing - and why impending return could be crucial