Cammy Devlin admits the passion of Hearts fans has made his move from Australia everything he could have hoped for.
The 23-year-old joined Hearts from Newcastle Jets in August, although his previous game was with Wellington Phoenix before an earlier summer switch.
The Australia Under-23 international had always wanted to experience football in Europe given the game is not the main sport in his homeland.
And playing for an in-form team at Tynecastle has more than lived up to his expectations.
Devlin said: “Probably the biggest difference that I have found is the passion the supporters have for the Hearts and how badly they want us to win at the weekend.
“It suits my personality, I go out there and play as hard as I can to win every single game.
“They have warmed to me, which makes everything a little bit more special, and pushes all the boys on that little bit extra. I am super grateful for it.
“I just love being at Tynecastle in front of the home fans, all us boys get a buzz off it. It’s such a loud, vibrant atmosphere and it’s so cool to be a part of it, especially when we are putting balls in the back of the net.
“Being at Tynecastle is my favourite day of the week. When it’s noisy it just spurs us on even more.”
About 3,500 Hearts fans are set to travel to Fir Park on Saturday with the club on course to sell out their allocation for the cinch Premiership clash with Motherwell.
“Just to know we have had a week off and sold 3,500 tickets or whatever, away games usually feel like home games, and they are extra noisy,” Devlin said. “It’s something us players get so excited for.”
Devlin knew something about what to expect in Edinburgh after speaking to former Hearts player Ryan McGowan, who is now based in Kuwait, before his move, while he has met his brother and former Jambos team-mate Dylan McGowan, who is at Kilmarnock.
“I went out for dinner with Dylan McGowan, he reached out when I came over here,” Devlin said.
“And obviously Ryan being a bit of a legend here, I am still looking for his statue he told me about…
“He has been class with me, I speak to him every week, he is always asking if I need anything and how I am feeling.
“I am congratulating him for getting in the Socceroos squad on a regular basis now. Hopefully I can join him in one of those because it would be nice to play with him and just be around him now that we have spoken so much.”
