The Derek McInnes message that Hearts star wanted to hear.

Heart of Midlothian’s message has been loud and clear since pre-season: “right attitude, application, and hard work”.

That approach has filtered onto the pitch, with the Gorgie club earning maximum points in the Premier Sports group stage and, as of now, a seeded spot in the last 16.

Despite scoring four goals in each of the four games and conceding only once, the football has not been spectacular. Instead, progress has been steady throughout the Group E fixtures, with the exception of the first half on Tuesday night.

Derek McInnes admitted afterwards that he had fielded an awkward side in order to get some players minutes as he dealt with the demands of a large squad.

Nonetheless, they led Dumbarton by two goals at halftime, and after a couple of half-time substitutions, they improved in the second.

Cammy Devlin was one of the standouts of the night, providing cover for others to advance while keeping things moving in midfield.

Towards the end of the game, he burst into the box to receive a pass from one of the summer signings, Alexandros Kyziridis, and set up another, Claudio Braga, for the third goal in a 4-0 victory.

“To be fair, all our performances in these four games have been quite professional and you can make hard work of them,” according to the Australian midfielder.

“The message from the first day of preseason has been simple: the right attitude, application, and hard work.

“The coach said everyone would get their chance, and I believe he tried to give everyone as many minutes as possible to demonstrate that they wanted the jersey.

I really enjoyed it, and I believe it was due to the positive attitude and excellent application.” Devlin added, “I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it. I believe there is a sense of freshness in the squad because of the large number of new players.

“We have a lot of boys who have come in, and they are eager and want to succeed.

And I believe that with the core group of boys who have been here for a while, I can explain what it means to be at a club like Hearts, how amazing and privileged it is, as well as the pressures that come with it. “The gaffer and his crew have been unbelievable.

Training has been extremely intense, and as I previously stated, because there are so many players and competition for positions, I believe everyone has realised this, and the levels have risen slightly, which was definitely necessary.

“Just the feeling in training, the attitude, and the application that I’ve seen from all of the players has been really good – and you can tell they’ve been enjoying it. “You all know me pretty well now. I will work as hard as possible every day.

I’d like to believe that if I do everything correctly and perform as well as I can on the training pitch, then if I’m not chosen, it’s [the manager’s] decision and nothing I could have done better. “So I try to work as hard as I can and keep my head down. This will never change.

And fingers crossed that I’ll be playing as much as possible, but that’s just how I am all the time. McInnes wants height in his team; he specifically wanted more presence in the middle of the pitch, so he brought in Oisin McEntee.

Devlin is short, but he makes up for it with his tackling, ball recoveries, and aggression. Music to the 27-year-old’s ears.

“His message to me and the boys who have been playing in midfield is that he wants you to be extremely aggressive, which suits me. I like being told to be aggressive because it is something I enjoy doing.

“But just to keep things simple, keep the ball moving. Everyone knows he likes his wingers, and he wants crosses and numbers in the box. So just keep the ball moving, spread it out wide, and support when it goes in.

“When it comes back out, be ready to win it back or put pressure on the defenders.” He also values self-expression and being yourself, which is essential if you want to play for Hearts.

“I can speak for all of the boys when I say that they have thoroughly enjoyed the preseason.

“What’s also been beneficial is that we’ve only had a couple of preseason games.

These aren’t friendlies; they’re games you have to win, and if your attitude isn’t right, you can make a lot of work out of them, which is something we might have done in the past.

“So yeah, it’s been really good and his messages are really clear.” McInnes has demonstrated man-management skills by calling players during the off-season to explain his plans for them, in addition to providing clear instructions.

His message to Devlin was to “be your aggressive, tenacious self in the midfield”. “That’s something that if I was told not to do, I think I’d struggle a lot,” Devlin added with a smile.

“His message to all players has been very clear. His communication with everyone has been excellent.

“With so many players, it’s difficult to keep everyone happy, but I believe he has spoken with everyone and it’s been really good.

“His messages are clear, training’s been really enjoyable and because we’re scoring goals, the games have been enjoyable as well.”

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