Devenny not ready for the beach after latest trophy

ByAndy Gray

BBC Sport NI Journalist

Justin Devenny has just celebrated winning the Uefa Conference League with Crystal Palace, but he isn't ready to hit the beach just yet.

It was a third honour in the space of 12 months for the Northern Ireland international.

After helping the club lift the FA Cup in the previous season, he scored the winning penalty in the Community Shield against Liverpool in August.

A first European trophy was remarkable as Oliver Glasner signed off his tenure on a high.

"It was a great experience to win a major trophy," said Devenny.

"I thought the boys were great and thought we fully deserved it throughout the full competition.

"The celebrations were great as well, I enjoyed it."

But instead of jetting off for his end-of-season holidays, Devenny is with Northern Ireland for two friendlies, with Guinea and World Cup-bound France.

For the 22-year-old, "there wasn't a question about me missing this".

"All I want to do is play football, especially when I've not been playing as much. I've been in and out throughout the season.

"Any opportunity to get games is great for me and I just want to keep playing and keep building because, at the end of the day, I'm going to get a month off in the off season."

Northern Ireland missed out on World Cup qualification when losing to Italy in their play-off semi-final.

But for someone who loves football, the heartbreak of missing out on a place at the finals won't stop Devenny from watching the tournament.

"You can't dwell on it. You think, 'oh, that could be us', but again, it's done and what's in the past is in the past," he said.

"I love watching football, so I'll be watching it and enjoying it - hopefully relaxing somewhere."

But for a squad which has consistently fielded the youngest starting teams on record, Devenny believes they can use the heartbreak as motivation to qualify for future tournaments.

"Everyone's excited for what's to come ahead," he added.

"There's plenty of tournaments coming up for us and we'll just have to look ahead and use that as motivation.

"We felt that heartbreak but what's done is done and I think that will be good for us to use because we don't really want to feel that again."

In the space of two years, Northern Ireland will have played Spain, France, Italy, Germany and Spain.

The latter three have been across the span of eight months, and Devenny said it was important to play the best.

"France are probably the best team in the world, so there's a lot to learn," he said.

"Throughout your career you want to challenge yourself against the best players and it'll be good to see yourself in and amongst that environment, just to get a feeling of being at the absolute top of the game because they're a team full of superstars.

"As hard as it's going to be, you need to believe you can compete in any game and at any level."

While Devenny will have a new manager with his club, there will be stability on the international stage after Michael O'Neill extended his Northern Ireland contract until 2032.

Devenny said he was "delighted" O'Neill was staying on after his dual role with Blackburn Rovers for the second half of the season came to an end.

"You need to be happy, you need to be confident, you need to be playing with freedom and the gaffer allows us to do that," Devenny added.

"I think you see that and he does put his trust in the boys. The boys, every single one of us, put our trust in each other and I think that helps a lot.

"Everyone always talks about togetherness in football and I think it is so important because that builds the foundations to allow you to go and express yourself on the pitch."

Lens manager Pierre Safe is the leading candidate to replace the Glasner, and Devenny will be keen to make an impact for whoever the new manager is at Selhurst Park.

After featuring in most of the first half of the season, Devenny found his minutes limited as the season progressed.

"My intentions will be going back for pre-season and really just hitting the ground running, to try my best and keep working hard and you never know because things change quickly in football.

"I just need to keep focusing on myself. It's almost a fresh start for everyone when we get back and with a fresh start, it brings opportunities for me to hopefully go and express myself.

"I want to be playing week in, week out and hopefully I'll do that."