Aberdeen’s Nicky Devlin happy to play back-three role and leave right-back to ‘non-stop’ runner Dylan Lobban

Experienced Aberdeen stopper Nicky Devlin says he is happy with his back-three role, and leaving the wing-back running to younger team-mates like break-out Dons youth academy product Dylan Lobban.

Devlin, 32, has started Aberdeen’s last seven matches at centre-back in Jimmy Thelin’s back-three/five system.

The new shape has helped the Dons tighten up and begin to pick up results following what was a dismal start to the season.

There have still been high-profile moments of fragility – including a 6-0 Euro hammering from AEK Athens a few weeks ago, and Sunday’s cover-your-eyes corner-kick switch-off to draw 1-1 at home to Motherwell.

But having played at right-back for most of his career, Devlin says his current right centre-half jobs “saves your legs”, as the man on the outside is the player tasked with getting up and down the line to support attacks and defend.

Devlin said: “I don’t mind it. You can still at times get forward and join in.

“Centre back’s not a position that’s completely new to me. I did play it a wee bit when I was younger at Ayr United.

“It’s good – you don’t do as much running, especially when you’ve got the likes of wee Dylan in front of you who can just go non-stop all day, or Alex (Alexander Jensen)… whoever plays on the right-hand side in front of me.

“It saves your legs.”

‘Dylan’s been brilliant’ – Devlin

Youngster Lobban has been the right wing-back alongside Devlin in the last three games — the 20-year-old impressing in what has been his first trio of Reds senior side outings.

Being pegged back in the Premiership against Motherwell, moments after Jesper Karlsson had put the Reds in front, was a deeply frustrating development for the Dons.

But the result before it – Thursday’s 0-0 draw to get up and running in the Uefa Conference League at AEK Larnaca – was positive.

Most positive about Larnaca was the way Lobban, also called up to the Scotland under-21s for the first time this week, took to European football with confidence.

Devlin said: “Dylan’s been brilliant from the start of pre-season.

“He’s probably been a wee bit frustrated that he’s not been involved as much as he wanted to be.”

Devlin: ‘We have kept a lot of clean sheets with back three’

Defender Devlin is convinced three-at-the-back is Aberdeen’s route to picking up more results in the weeks ahead.

Although the weekend against Well didn’t go to plan, he says the upturn in clean sheets since Thelin changed approach in late September is the foundation which gives the Dons’ attacking talents a platform to win matches.

He said: “Once we went to the back three, back five – whatever you want to call it – we have kept a lot of clean sheets recently.

“Even the Motherwell game (on September 27) when we lost two goals in stoppage time, that was the first time we went to that formation and that could have been a clean sheet.

“We went to St Mirren, clean sheet. Dundee, clean sheet. Kilmarnock, clean sheet.

“We have been good in terms of a wee bit more defensively.

“Of course, we lost the goals in Athens, which were disappointing.

“And in the Hibs game, we lost a couple of goals, but on the whole, in that formation, we’ve kept clean sheets, so we know how important that will be.

“We’ve got boys in forward areas that can win games for us, so we know if we can keep them out the other end, we’ll have a good chance.”

Devlin laughs over near-HORROR moment in Larnaca draw

Aberdeen are now on a break for international fixtures, and will return to action at home to Hearts in the top flight a week on Sunday.

Four days later, they will face their next Conference League test when Armenian champions Noah visit Pittodrie.

After a pointless two-game start in Europe, Devlin said he felt the AEK Larnaca draw “proved” Aberdeen are good enough to compete in Continental action, and “hopefully it turns out to be a really important point” once the six-fixture league phase is completed.

One curious moment from Larnaca which had hearts in mouths was a first-half incident where Devlin, being pursued by AEK’s attackers, caught an attempted pass-back with his shin and almost lobbed his goalkeeper, Dimitar Mitov, from outside the box.

Thankfully, the ball landed just high and wide of the Dons’ goal before Devlin remonstrated with the referee.. although it was not clear what his complaint to the whistler was.

Able to laugh with relief over the panicky piece of play, Devlin reflected: “To be fair, I did think the boy was offside, but obviously I still have to deal with the clearance better.

“I was just hopeful, when I did connect with the ball, it went so, so high, that I was like: ‘Surely it’s not going to drop down in time’.

“That part wasn’t probably the worst bit – it’s then defending the corner and you’re just praying and hoping: ‘Someone please head it away. Don’t concede from this.’

“It wouldn’t have been fair on the boys, especially defensively.

“Not just the back five, but the boys in front of us as well put so much effort into the clean sheet.

“If we’d lost the game or lost a clean sheet on that, it would have been disappointing.”

[Source: Press and Journal]