Cammy Devlin says the move from Heart Of Midlothian to Rangers became easier to understand once he looked back at the summer around the World Cup. He said it was "too stressful" trying to deal with an unresolved club future while away with Australia, and the timing left little room for calm. "When the opportunity came, it was one that was too good to pass up," C. Devlin said.
The World Cup summer that unsettled him
Devlin said the game was on the Saturday and he flew out to the World Cup on the Tuesday. That left him trying to manage football on one side and uncertainty on the other, with his father asking every day what was happening.
He was direct about how that felt. "It was hard just being in the moment being at the World Cup and dealing with all that and the noise around it," he said. Hearts then announced that Devlin would not sign a new contract a week after Australia’s last-32 defeat by Egypt, and Rangers announced his capture the following day.
Hearts, McInnes and the return to Tynecastle
Devlin was careful not to dress up the exit as anything other than a difficult call. "Hearts is such a special football club and I will be forever grateful for giving me the opportunity to play football outside Australia," he said. He also said Derek McInnes was so good for him at Hearts and that their relationship was super close.
That is where the move gets a bit more delicate. McInnes' influence clearly mattered, but Devlin’s own words still point to a bundle of reasons, not a single deciding factor. The Daily Record also reported that Devlin expects a hostile welcome back at Tynecastle on October 28, and he said he would just have to do his best to relish that moment.
The football context around the move helps explain why Rangers were willing to move quickly too. Devlin averaged 7.22 across his last five matches, played 348 minutes in that spell and Rangers went through a five-match league run with 1 win and 4 defeats before the deal. That is not the whole story, but it does fit a club looking for midfield help while Devlin was still playing well enough to draw interest.
The next meeting with Hearts now has an edge to it, and Devlin has already said he understands why some at Tynecastle may not greet him warmly.
Written by Sam Whitfield with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 2 outlets. How we work →
