Devlin 'can't wait to repay' Pompey faith

Terry Devlin wants to repay Portsmouth's faith in him after being handed a new deal at Fratton Park.

The versatile 21-year-old midfielder was limited to four appearances off the Blues bench in their opening 11 Championship games.

But the Northern Ireland Under-21 international - who arrived from Glentoran in 2023 - has featured in 20 of Pompey's next 24 league games, starting nine of them at right back, and has been rewarded with a new three-year contract at Fratton Park.

He told BBC Radio Solent: "I'm buzzing to sign a new deal. I have loved it every since I came over – it's been tough but it's been unbelievable. I can't wait to continue the journey.

"Obviously the club think something about me and offered me a new deal, which I am really pleased about. I just can't wait to repay them and keep working as hard as I can."

Devlin helped Pompey earn promotion from League One last season and admitted: "It's been a huge step up. At the start of the season it was really tough, finding myself in and out of squads, but I have worked as hard as I could to get myself back in there and kept myself in there ever since.

"It's been a really good turnaround from us. At the start of the season we were finding our feet, I think we were all a bit taken aback by the standard and intensity of the league.

"We have got our feet on the ground now and know what to expect, we know how to get results and play a bit better."

Leeds United earned a battling 3-3 draw at Elland Road in their opening game of the season in August and renew acquaintances at Fratton Park on Sunday (12:00 GMT).

"We got a really good point away from home," Devlin added. "It was a really crazy game, they hit the bar three times in the first six minutes. Thankfully we stuck in there and got a point.

"They are top of the league for a reason. They're going to be playing Premier League football next season. At home it suits us a bit more, we've had a good run of form at home and when the crowd gets behind us it can be really tough for opposition teams. We're going to give them a good game.

"There's a lot of points to play for, the job's (survival) not done yet, we have got to go and finish it off."