Soccer: Knights chasing second win on the trot

After each game and training session, Sean Devine can be found standing in a bucket of ice. It's not that the Knights striker needs cooling off, although some spectators, referees and opposition players might consider it a good idea - he is something of a, well, abrasive player - but it's a somewhat masochistic way of repairing his ageing body.

In a squad of grizzly characters, most notably the English contingent, that has been assembled at their North Harbour base, Devine looms as one of those hard-as-nails characters you wouldn't want to meet in a dark corner of a footy pitch. His partner in crime up front, Simon Yeo, might be slightly smaller but he's equally lethal having spent years in the British Army and the pair could become one of the most awkward for opposition defences.

Just the mention of his temperament prompts one of those slightly wicked smiles that leaves you wondering what's going on inside his head. "I like that side of the game," he said in the lead-up to today's visit to Newcastle.

"I like a battle, a tussle, and it makes me want to play. If no one kicks me or gives me a clump then I will probably stay quiet. It's when they want to have a pop or have a go, it's when I think, 'bring it on, let's have a go'."

It's something of a curious situation that Devine has come full circle with his temperament. "As a youngster I had a terrible temper and then I really calmed down. Now I'm coming to the end [of my career] I control my temper in the right way but I like to, you know, mix it a little bit; wind up the opposition. When I'm off the pitch, I'm your best mate."

It seems true. Once he's crossed the line after a game of football, the 33-year-old is amiable and polite - albeit slower to emerge than his team-mates as he pulls himself wearily from his ice bath.

Devine is hoping, however, that he can run hot in this year's A-League, having established all-time club goalscoring records at two of the three English clubs he's been at over the course of his 11-year professional career. At Barnet he nabbed 47 goals in four seasons, at Wycombe he slotted 41, despite being out injured for nearly two seasons, and he also holds Wycombe's club record for scoring the most goals in a season with 23 in 1999-2000. In all, he scored 127 goals during his career in England at the impressive rate of a goal every second game, which prompted a call-up to the Ireland B side for his single international appearance to play alongside Robbie Keane and Damien Duff.

Having got off the mark in the Knights' third game, when he came off the bench in the 2-0 win over the Central Coast Mariners last weekend, Devine hopes it's a sign of things to come. "It was a relief to get the first one," he said. "It doesn't matter what level you play at. When you're a striker at a new club, people expect you to score and have a pop if you don't.

"I wasn't happy about starting on the bench last weekend because I don't want people to doubt me at such an early stage. The gaffer had his reasons and the best way to answer that was to put it in the back of the net."

Putting it in the back of the net is sure to see Devine grab the headlines, but he already feels like something of a luminary by simply playing in the A-League after years of grinding away in the English lower leagues. "It's like playing in the Premiership back home," he said excitedly looking around at the facilities at North Harbour Stadium. "We're on the tele every week, I'm doing commercials... I feel like a celebrity. I love it here."

Just like a celebrity, Devine is sure to run hot and cold, quite literally, during his time with the Knights - just the way he likes it.

Newcastle Jets: (from) Liam Reddy (gk), Steve Eagleton, Jade North, Ned Zelic, Richard Johnson, Matt Thompson, Ante Milicic, Nick Carle, Paul Kohler, Guy Bates, Stuart Musialik, Labinot Haliti, Mark Bridge, Allan Picken, Andy Petterson (gk).

NZ Knights: (from) Danny Milosevic (gk), Darren Bazeley, Ronnie Bull, John Tambouras, Danny Hay, Neil Emblen, Steve Fitzsimmons, Ben Collett, Simon Yeo, Sean Devine, Zenon Caravella, Joshua Rose, Xiaobin Zhang, Noah Hickey, Glen Moss (gk).

- HERALD ON SUNDAY