Devlin eager to keep Walsall run going

And now Nicky Devlin is targeting another three points at Portsmouth tomorrow – to continue his ‘perfect’ start to life at Walsall.

The 23-year-old was snapped up from Scottish outfit Ayr United during the summer – a side that until the start of this campaign was only training part-time.

Nevertheless, Devlin has made an impressive start to life as a Saddler with many supporters tipping him as a future fans’ favourite following his display in the win over Oldham.

But while the defender is loving life at the Banks’s Stadium, he believes you can only enjoy your football if you are winning games.

“I have found, since I have moved down from Scotland, everything has been perfect for me,” he said.

“Everyone at the club has been brilliant. And the interaction I’ve had with supporters has been great because we’re all in it together.

“When the move came up, straight away it was a case of let’s get it done – I wasn’t bothered about sorting out houses and stuff like that. I just wanted to get down and get signed because it was a massive opportunity.

“Since I’ve been here I’ve enjoyed every minute. The boys made it very easy coming into the dressing room.

“The manager has made it easy.

“But of course winning on Saturday was key to that. It’s all about winning games.

“There is always a backlog if you don’t win. When you’re at home get your wife gets it or your mum gets it. You have to get that frustration out.

“But I think if we keep playing like we did against Oldham, we will be picking up a lot of wins.”

Walsall are now aiming to make it back-to-back wins in League One when they take on a Portsmouth side tipped to be among the promotion favourites. And Devlin admits he is looking forward to the trip to Fratton Park.

“I can’t wait,” the full-back said.

“At the start of the season, I came in and we were speaking about the league and everyone said Portsmouth is the best away day.

“I’m really looking forward to it. Every stadium this year is new to me. It’s exciting to go to every one.

“But I have heard stories about the atmosphere at Portsmouth. I’m looking forward to going there and using that atmposhere to our advatange because you can only enjoy those things if you are doing well.”

Devlin believes Walsall’s performance in the second half against Oldham has now set the benchmark for the rest of the season.

“We created enough chances to win two games,” he added.

“In the second half we moved the ball a lot quicker. We got it into the forward players quicker. When we speed it up they didn’t have any answers. If we move the ball and play like that we will do really well.”