Cammy Devlin reveals his secret role before Hearts as he hails Steven Naismith for unlocking best of both worlds

Cammy Devlin admits there’s a simple reason his career as a striker was binned after just a few games.

In his own words the Hearts livewire loves a tackle - but put him in front of goal though and the midfield scrapper is more likely to suffer a nosebleed. Five goals and 27 bookings in 92 appearances across three years in Gorgie is all the evidence needed to back that up. But ahead of Saturday's trip to face Ross County, Devlin surprisingly revealed he spent an early part of his playing days back in Australia as a frontman.

And under the guidance of Steven Naismith the 25-year-old Aussie international reckons he’s starting to bring back an attacking dimension to his game as he bids to become a midfield all-rounder. Charged with getting up to support the forwards in Monday’s Scottish Cup quarter final win at Morton, only a fine Ryan Mullen save denied the Aussie a stunning 25 yard goal.

And he revealed: "I was a striker when I was younger .. but that only lasted a few games. I think it's pretty clear I'm not the best goalscorer. I like tackling too much as well! That's two pretty important things.

“I'm more of a midfielder in terms of winning that ball back, but I can play attacking midfield, middle or defensive mid. I'm comfortable in all of them.

“Naisy has played at the highest level. I take in all the information I can and try to make it happen on the pitch. His message on Monday was to let the build-up happen. I was one of the more attacking midfielders and if I had to drop in to get the ball then do so, but I was to get in the box and join the attacks. There's a bit of freedom to get up there.

"It's about building your all-round game, going from a defensive midfielder to an all-round midfielder. It's exciting. If