Bradford-born Devine on "hit and miss" time at Valley Parade

As a Bradford lad, born and bred, he will have felt the emotion from those highs and lows like any fan.

But now Devine admits that a move to pastures new is probably just what he needs to breathe some momentum into his stuttering career.

Nine years after joining his hometown club in the under-13s, the midfielder is among the many up and down the country looking for fresh employment.

“I am disappointed how it ended,” he said. “But maybe it was time for me to move on and look for a new challenge.

“Obviously I got to play for my hometown club but I would have like to have had more games than I did. But I can’t change anything.

Danny Devine celebrates scoring against Crawley last season

“It’s been up and down. The debut season was a good one but after that it never really got going.

“But it felt very special when I did play because there was a connection with the fans straight away coming from Bradford. They always wanted me to do that bit better because I was a local lad.

“The fans were good to me throughout my whole time. From the moment I broke through, they never really had a bad word to say.

“But I think it may help me if I go somewhere else.

“I won’t be seen as the young lad coming through or whatever and seen as the easy option to leave out. Hopefully that won’t happen if I get a new club.”

Devine was tipped for big things when he made his debut in Stuart McCall’s initial managerial homecoming against Port Vale in August 2016.

Only 18 at the time, he would keep the shirt for the first eight games – until City brought back Josh Cullen.

The Republic of Ireland international’s return from West Ham inevitably sidelined Devine as the midfielder’s cultured displays maintained the play-off push.

But Devine still finished his first senior campaign with 19 appearances – more than he would make in the next two combined.

Nine games in the following season included only three from the bench in the league. Injuries then disrupted his progress in 2018-2019, missing the brief tenure of Michael Collins entirely and only featuring sporadically in the cup for David Hopkin.

One of the quieter members of the dressing room, Devine could see the club’s demise at the hands of Edin Rahic.

“Other players who had been at other clubs would have probably found it worse than me because Bradford was all I’d known. But it was definitely different.

“It was all good up until we got to the play-off final. But the year after when Stuart left, you got the sense that the club wasn’t in a good place.

“The results weren’t going well either and things were just piling up on each other.

“The club had been getting better slowly but surely but that one year probably undid the progress of the previous five.”

Managers came and went, although Gary Bowyer’s arrival appeared to offer some hope. He was impressed with Devine’s work-rate in the dead rubber games after relegation and gave him another year’s contract last summer.

The club had been getting better slowly but surely but that one year probably undid the progress of the previous five

“He definitely helped me coming in and gave me a bit more game time than I’d played the previous few years,” added Devine.

“All the managers were good to me when I wasn’t in the team, to be fair. They would always speak and give me pointers about this and that.

“I had no complaints on that front but it was just the amount of managers in such a short space of time wasn’t ideal.

“You need a bit of stability at the club so that everyone knows what they are doing.”

Bowyer started Devine for seven out of eight games early last season, his best run since being first thrown in by McCall, and the 22-year-old delivered that elusive first goal with a deflected drive against Crawley in front of the Kop.

But the FA Cup tie at Shrewsbury in November would prove his last start. And when he came off the bench a fortnight later to take Hope Akpan’s place at Plymouth, that would be Devine’s 53rd and final outing in a City shirt.

Results dropped off at the turn of the year but he would not be called upon again. Nothing changed for him when McCall returned in February.

Devine admitted: “It was hit and miss like all the others.I got quite a lot of game time before Christmas but then didn’t get back in for whatever reason.

“I could understand if we were winning every week. You can’t really complain if you’re not playing then.

“But we were poor on the pitch, the results weren’t very good and it was frustrating not to be involved.

“It didn’t come as a surprise when I got released. I knew deep down it was coming because I’d not even made the squad once since Stuart had come back.”

The future is uncertain in a world now dictated by the coronavirus pandemic. Devine only knows that whatever happens next it won’t be at Valley Parade.

“Nothing like this has happened before so nobody really knows what to do.

“I’ve been able to keep myself going and stay fit but obviously it’s gone on a lot longer than anyone thought.

“Next season has not been announced yet with a start date. We’re all waiting for that and then I’d expect everything will start picking up.

“There have been a few deals but it’s quiet on the whole. I’m sure that will change.

“I don’t see why I can’t get somewhere. When I’ve played, I don’t feel I’ve been any worse than anyone else or looked out of shape.

“I just want the chance to play more game time than I have done.”