Cammy Devlin has come to the defence of Kenneth Vargas after his Heart of Midlothian team-mate cast doubt over his future at the club.

The pair are close, according to the Australian who added that Vargas was genuinely upset but the reaction to his comments while away on international duty with Costa Rica.

The forward told local media in his homeland that his plan was to leave Hearts at some point before the end of his contract which expires in 2029. There was a suggestion that could be as soon as January and this was agreed with the club.

Vargas was delayed while returning from international duty and head coach Neil Critchley, speaking after the 4-1 loss to Celtic, has yet to speak to the player about his comments.

Devlin revealed that once reports hit the Scottish media last week he was contacted for advice.

"I didn't see anything while he was away,” said Devlin. “I was in Scotland and he texted me saying: 'Can you please help me, I've been misinterpreted.' Obviously, it's the language thing.

“I hadn't actually seen the interview, so I was texting him back and forth and then obviously saw the article. I just told him, 'The only way you can win them back is by working your socks off and scoring a few goals and repaying it by doing that'.

"Kenny's a young kid and maybe whatever he said he shouldn't have said, but he's a lovely guy and I can say hand on my heart that he absolutely loves being here. He loves coming out and we've got a really good rapport with him.

“I don't think he would have signed his five-year deal if he didn't love being here, so I know he loves being here. Maybe he said a few things that, you know, are a bit naive and he probably regrets saying it. But he's just a kid and I know that he'll keep working hard.

“Hopefully the goals start falling for him and hopefully he can win them back over, but I can completely understand the misunderstanding kind of thing.

Vargas' substitute appearance was met with a mixture of applause and jeers when he entered the field as a 68th-minute substitute.

The 22-year-old is a popular member of the Hearts squad and Devlin spoke up for his team-mate, praising his character and admitting he had been left upset by the whole episode.

“He texted me straight away,” said Devlin. “I'm really close with him and like I say, he texted me saying: 'Can you please help me? I've been misunderstood.'

Read more

“I love him. He's a really good guy and, like I say, he loves being here and it definitely would upset him because you don't want to upset anyone and that's not what he's like.

"I think he's got to show on the pitch his mindset, which he does, to be fair. I feel like Kenny is similar to me in terms of he'll run himself into the ground, he'll work as hard as he can and things aren't falling for him in front of goal and things like this.

“He scored nine goals in his first season last year as a 21-year-old kid coming from Costa Rica, so there are signs there of a really good player. You see every day, he's a great kid, honestly, and a really good player and I just want him to do so well, like I do with all the boys.

"Musa [Drammeh] coming on on Saturday after having such a hard start and scoring such a good goal. Within himself, he would feel really good about that. You've just got to get around boys like that, not speaking English, it's so hard, but I'm sure Kenny's got to put himself in a position where the fans go, 'Look, he's working hard.' And then they'll buy back into him, I'm sure."

Despite any backlash from supporters – and however big – Vargas walked back into a supportive dressing room.

“You can't put any of your team-mates to the side,” added Devlin. “I know what it's like coming from the other side of the world and it's harder for him, he doesn't speak English, even though the Scottish accent doesn't sound like English sometimes!

“You've got to put your arm around him. He's a young kid, and coming from the other side of the world… he's got no family here and he's just got to put his head down and work hard. That's the only thing you can do, it's our job at the end of the day.”