Defender Danny Devine says Inverness Caley Thistle gave him more than he dreamt of when he first joined as he reaches 200th game
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DANNY Devine says Inverness Caledonian Thistle gave him more than he could have dreamt of in his football career as he prepares for his 200th game at the club.
The defender is expected to reach his milestone match for Inverness on Friday night when they take on Dundee United at the Caledonian Stadium.
The 31-year-old has played at Inverness Caledonian Thistle during two different periods of his career.
The Northern Irish footballer first arrived from Fleetwood Town in 2013 and stayed for three years.
During that time, he won the Scottish Cup in 2015 and played in the League Cup final 12 months previously.
He left Inverness to join Partick Thistle in 2016 before moving on to Dunfermline Athletic and then returning to Inverness Caledonian Thistle in 2020.
He also played for Caley Thistle in the Scottish Cup final last season against Celtic.
Devine says when he first arrived at Inverness 11 years ago, he never expected to have experienced so many cup final occasions with the club.
“I didn’t know what to expect when I first joined,” said Devine.
“I moved up when Terry Butcher was in charge and I was on the verge of signing somewhere else.
“But I spoke to Terry and he told me about the club and they were sitting second in the league behind Celtic.
“I thought it would be a good opportunity for a young lad like myself to try and find my way in the game. It’s provided more than I can dream of.
“Lifting the Scottish Cup, playing in the League Cup final, playing in the Scottish Cup last year.
“Three national finals I have played in and hopefully there are more special occasions to come.”
During Devine’s first period at the club, Inverness were in the Premiership, but his second stint has been spent entirely in the Championship.
He says one of his major objectives is to help get Inverness back into the Premiership and competing against the best in Scottish football.
“It would be massive, when I left the club they were still in the top flight.
“I have come back and they have took a hit and been out for a little while.
“For me personally it would be great to get back in the top flight and prove myself again. Being able to play there and for the fans and the club it would be massive. For the financial side of the club it would be massive.
“The fans want us to play against the best teams in Scotland and it would be hard. It would be huge, but it will be a tough ask this season, but I think we are moving in the right direction.”
He added: “Before last season we got to the play-off final. We were unlucky as we were 45 minutes away from getting back into the top flight. If you can add that to the collection of winning the Scottish Cup. But it is a tough ask and hopefully we are not here for much longer, hopefully we can keep progressing and get back into the Premier League.”
Caley Thistle go into Friday’s match in seventh place. Despite a play-off place being the best they can hope for this season, Devine is optimistic about the future.
“With a new manager, it has given us something different, it feels like we are only improving and a fresh start building up to something.
“The run of form is going to make it difficult to push for the play-offs as there are a few teams in about it. But I think we are building something good with the manager in place.”
