Devlin was sent off for violent conduct during a pre-season friendly in Scotland; because the referee reported the incident to the Football Association, he was suspended for the first three matches of the new season. He was selected to start the next, against Leeds United, and after 31 minutes, scored Birmingham's first Premier League goal at their St Andrew's ground with "a sweet right-foot shot that flew beyond Robinson from ". The 2–1 win was their first in the Premier League. Devlin made 32 league appearances that season, of which 20 were in the starting eleven, and scored three goals. In October 2002, he received his first call-up to the Scotland squad, and was capped ten times while a Birmingham player.