New arrivals including Argentina international Luciano Figueroa, top scorer in the 2002–03 Clausura, and club-record signing David Dunn pushed Devlin down the pecking order. He made only two substitute appearances in the first month of the season, and was omitted from a matchday squad for the first time since his return to the club. Although he felt he could still contribute at Premier League level, and Bruce did not want him to go, Devlin believed he needed regular football to stand a chance of representing Scotland at Euro 2004.