Aberdeen ace Nicky Devlin's Scotland call-up is good news for Gartcairn boss

Gartcairn boss Mick Dunlop was delighted to see former coach Nicky Devlin receive a Scotland call-up after impressing at Aberdeen during their astonishing winning run.

The Dons are neck-and-neck with Premiership leaders Celtic, and right-back Devlin has been an integral part of those performances.

That has resulted in the 30-year-old receiving a first-ever call-up for the Nations League double-header against Croatia on Saturday and Portugal the following Tuesday.

Devlin knows the defender from their time at Dumbarton, and assistant Paddy Boyle played with him at Ayr United, so when they took the job at Gartcairn, Devlin opted to help out.

A delighted Devlin said: “I’ve known Nicky for years. He was a young boy coming through at Dumbarton when I was there, I’ve kept in touch, and Paddy, our assistant manager, played with him at Ayr as well.

“Nicky coached with myself and David Gormley when we were at Broomhill, so when me and Paddy got the job at Gartcairn, he came in with us in our first season.

“He obviously couldn’t come to games, and it was in a non-official capacity. He would just come and help us with training, but Nicky played a massive part in helping us get over the line and win the league.

“He was playing with Livingston then, but he got the move to Aberdeen and it meant, logistically, he wasn’t able to come in and help us out.

“He’s a great guy, Nicky, and I’m delighted for him, because he’s established himself as a really good right-back in the Premiership, and that’s how he got his move to Pittodrie.

“By all accounts he’s done really well there, so to top if all off, and get a Scotland cap, is magnificent for him and his family.”

Gartcairn on Saturday had a bye in the West of Scotland Cup first round, with