Cammy Devlin can sometimes be far from popular with his partner. The Heart of Midlothian midfielder "loves" watching football and will have it on at home. A lot.

It is one of the areas he sees as beneficial in his desire to improve. Watching games, analysing midfielders and trying to learn.

A boyhood Liverpool fan, Steven Gerrard was his point of reference. His "favourite player of all time". The all-action nature, aggressive, dominant and game-changing.

"In terms of the way he played as a defensive player," Devlin, who signed a contract extension last week, explained, "I feel like the way he broke up play and kept the play ticking, he’s had more of that forward play that I want to get so much better at in terms of he was scoring so many goals and creating so many chances.

"But the defensive side of his game is something that I have prided myself on my whole career and I absolutely loved watching him."

In more recent years there is another midfield maestro Devlin has gravitated toward. 

"He’s playing in Qatar now, but Marco Verratti was a player that I absolutely loved watching for Italy and PSG," he said.

"Just the way he played the game as a midfielder, I absolutely loved. I’m not quite anywhere near as good as him, but I just love the way they play the game and he’s small as well.

"I’ve got to take some responsibility myself in terms of. You watch the players that you want to get to the heights that they’re at.

"We’re fortunate enough to be in the national team set-up where you’re playing opposition at the World Cups and things like that where you get to see them live.

"I watch clips of myself of games back with the staff most weeks, of things I did well, but also the things like, 'What could you have done here? What could you have done here?' That’s how you improve.

"You watch the Premier League and things like that and players in different positions. But, if you’re watching your own clips back from previous games, then I feel like that’s a big thing of how I want to improve.”

Devlin admitted he has "still got a massive way to go" but on reflecting on his time at Hearts he appreciates his progress since making the move to Tynecastle Park.

"I feel like I've come a long way as a player," he said. "In terms of my game as a whole, I was more one-dimensional in terms of I was a defensive midfielder and I kind of sat and that's what I was doing in the A-League and that was my role, which I enjoyed and I feel like is a massive strength of mine. But to become a better player and warrant a new deal at a massive football club, you've got to be more than one thing.

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"I'm obviously not the young player that I was when I first signed, but you can always improve. You always want to take your game to the next level. And I feel like you guys watching me play every week, you know the kind of person I am and I wear my heart on my sleeve and I go out onto the training pitch every single day to make myself a better player and make the team a better team."

The hope is to become Devlin 2.0. Where he evolves into an all-round midfield threat. Someone who can sit and dictate. Someone who can run and spoil. But also someone who can create and score.

The 26-year-old credits Steven Naismith and the Hearts coaching staff for pushing him toward that evolution. 

"I feel like I can’t speak highly enough of him," Devlin said. "Firstly, as a man and his staff, Gordie [Forrrest] and Frankie [McAvoy] as well.

"Now I feel like I can play higher up in the pitch and kind of like create up there and stuff. I still want to score goals and get more assists, of course. There’s no denying that and it’s something that I’ve never done in my career, so it doesn’t just happen overnight. You work on it.

"I’m trying really hard to make that happen and be that versatile player that can be trusted as a six, as an eight, as a 10 because you want to be that player that the manager can count on.

"A lot of credit goes to him. We’ve had so many chats on the pitch, in his office, watched so many clips and I really appreciate it. And that’s some of the reason why I feel that respect to stay because he’s put so much time and effort into me and believes in me. That’s something that I really appreciate."