Derek McInnes spent months trying to convince Cammy Devlin to commit himself to Hearts. The task of getting the midfielder to say yes to Rangers was considerably easier.
Just weeks after McInnes made the switch from Tynecastle to Ibrox, Devlin has followed in his footsteps. The path, of course, was first walked by Lawrence Shankland and three of the men who were integral to Hearts’ title challenge last term will now lead Rangers’ bid for the silverware.
Devlin returned from the World Cup faced with the biggest decision of his career. One conversation with McInnes assured him - not that there was any great doubt in his mind in the first place - that he should put pen-to-paper in Glasgow and become the sixth signing of the summer for Rangers.
The bond between manager and player clearly played a part in the process. McInnes, though, has not signed the Australian just for sentimental reasons. Devlin will have a role to play on the park as well as off it and McInnes is delighted to be reunited with his latest recruit.
“Yeah, I think when you work closely with players, you've always got that added advantage,” McInnes said as he spoke at Rangers’ pre-season training camp in Spain. “You don't just see what you get on a Saturday, but you see them day in, day out. And, you know, for me, he brings so much. As a free agent, it made so much sense to us.
“I was trying to convince Cammy for most of the season to stay at Hearts. And, you know, but I thought the longer that went on, he was maybe just looking at other opportunities. There was a few opportunities maybe abroad for him.
“But getting him to come and work with us again, I'm really pleased with that. I think managers, when you've got an opportunity to bring players that have done well for you previously, there's always that added attraction.
“But if I didn't think he could do the job that's going to be asked of him, I wouldn't be doing it, as much as I like him. And I think what he has done, what he does bring, is a day-to-day mindset, a day-to-day mentality that's so needed at this club.
“It's so required that you need to train with personality, you need to train properly, you need to put the demand on. And he'll bring all that. Modern football, a lot of the time, you've got a lot of players who play for themselves.
“But I do think Cammy’s got the ability to make others round about him better. There's no coincidence that so many people, a lot of our forward players last season at Hearts, got so many credits and plaudits. But behind that was a team. And Cammy was a big part of that.
“His ability to make the guys round about him better, just by being him and being very simple, playing with passion, playing with enthusiasm, playing with a real competitive nature. But he also plays with, he's a proper team-mate in a true sense. The players will love him as soon as he comes in.”
Devlin will join up with the squad as preparations continue for the new campaign. The trip to face Dundee United in the Premiership opener is now looming large for McInnes and a squad that still needs further reinforcements.
The Aussie is the second midfielder to arrive at Ibrox this summer following the capture of Dan Neil, the former Sunderland captain. Amid ongoing uncertainty over the futures of Nico Raskin, Mohamed Diomande and Connor Barron, further additions are expected in that area of the side.
McInnes has outlined the need for character as well as quality. In his eyes, Devlin ticks both of those boxes.
“Yeah, I mean, listen, Cammy was free, he was a free agent, so there's an obvious attraction there,” McInnes said. “But for all those qualities I just mentioned, you could say something similar about Dan Neil.
“Obviously I've not worked with Dan for long now, but obviously having through a campaign with Cammy, I've seen, I know what I'm going to get first-hand. And he'll bring that on the back of a good season for him.
“I mean, arguably, if him and Lawrence don't get significant injuries last season, we could probably have won the league, but losing their impact was clear. So both of them had strong seasons, but both Lawrence and Cammy are good types.
“And I do think that it's more than just being a good player, that you need to thrive here. We can't always just sign players of that ilk, but if you've not got enough of them in the building, you're not going to get the job done, I don't think.”
The Rangers Review revealed the advanced nature of discussions with Devlin on Friday evening. By Saturday morning, the deal was done and McInnes had his man.
Read more:
- Rangers pre-season latest: Who's here, who's stayed at home, transfer latest
- Cammy Devlin's first Rangers interview in FULL: McInnes, Shankland and excitement
Some supporters cast their minds back to McInnes’ unveiling as Rangers manager when he was quizzed about the possibility of returning to Tynecastle as part of his summer shopping spree. The assurance on that day was that he wouldn’t move for anyone under contract in Gorgie. It has all worked out in the end, for all parties.
“Obviously, when I get the job here, there was maybe a natural [link], everybody maybe think that was going to go hand in hand, but Cammy had the World Cup to deal with,” McInnes said. “You know, I think he had the World Cup to contend with. I was coming in here and seeing what we had to work with and what we were doing here.
“And so while he was at the World Cup, we were getting on with other things. I was getting on with the training and likewise. And, you know, as soon as Australia were out of the World Cup and Cammy had to sort his future out, then there was quite a conversation to have, really.”
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