Crystal Palace’s Justin Devenny said he relished the challenge of playing a new position for Northern Ireland in their 2-1 friendly defeat by Denmark on Saturday.
The game in Copenhagen saw manager Michael O’Neill pick the 21-year-old to start at wing-back for the first time at international level.
Devenny, who won the FA Cup with Oliver Glasner’s side this season, performed admirably throughout, creating Northern Ireland’s early goal while also managing the threat posed by Lazio’s Gustav Isaksen.
“It was a new position for me but I enjoyed it and wherever I play for the team I’m willing to do a shift,” he said of what was his fourth cap.
“Michael had told me he was thinking of playing me there and we did a few bits and bobs in training. To be fair, I’m familiar with it from Palace as well.
“I know the roles and responsibilities of it and it’s just putting that into place.”
O’Neill has previously played the right-footed Brodie Spencer on the left side of his backline with the Huddersfield Town man performing well in recent internationals.
The manager thought that Devenny’s comfort on the ball gave his side a “nice outlet” at Parken Stadium.
“I thought he did really well,” O’Neill said.
“He’s got his hands full against a winger that obviously causes you a lot of problems. Justin’s a midfield player but he’s left-sided and I thought he dealt with it very, very well.
“He gave us a nice outlet on the left-hand side as well in terms of his use of the ball, so he was a big, big positive.”
Along with Liverpool’s Conor Bradley, Devenny was one of only two players in the Northern Ireland panel to feature in the Premier League this season.
The highlight of his domestic season, however, was of course his side’s Wembley victory over Manchester City in the FA Cup final and the Scotland-born midfielder is already looking forward to playing European football at Selhurst Park next season.
“Now it has probably sunk in but at the time I was in shock,” he said of being an unused substitute in the final.
“It was such a big achievement at such a young age. I’ll probably look back on my career in times to come and think of that day. It was special and to do it with a special group of boys was great.
“It’s positive after positive. That’s what I want to do with my career, take the next step and then the next step after that. Hopefully there will be some opportunities to come for me.”
Before that, though, is Tuesday night’s friendly with Iceland where Devenny hopes both to make a first home start for his country and for the side to build momentum before the start of their World Cup qualifying campaign in September.
“Hopefully I’ll get a start. It’s a special atmosphere and the fans are great, so I can’t wait for that,” he added.
“It is about getting that team togetherness and knowing the way we play. Even for me, this is my third camp and it’s about understanding the players I’m playing with.
“It’s a great learning experience and I think that builds momentum into the big games.”
