Celtic legend Jackie McNamara believes that club outcast Scott Sinclair will soon get a chance again in the first team as the season wears on.
McNamara was recently talking exclusively to Football Insider and was asked about the situation of Sinclair. He had positive things to say and believes that the Englishman will soon play regularly when games start to come thick and fast for Neil Lennon.
When questioned as to whether he felt the experienced winger had played his last game for the Hoops, he said: “I don’t think so. There are games coming up. One of the last games they used him in was against Partick Thistle in the League Cup, when he came on and scored.
“So I think he’s a player who’s done well for Celtic through the years, especially in the first year with Brendan (Rodgers).
“Obviously it’s tough to get in with the form of other ones, it’s part and parcel of being at a big club, at a successful club. Opportunities and chances, you have to take them, but I think he’s been a good servant to Celtic.”
Frozen out in Glasgow
Sinclair joined Celtic from Aston Villa in the summer of 2016 and arrived on a four-year deal that is set to run out at the end of this season.
This campaign, Sinclair has been used rather scarcely by Lennon so far. He has been used only six times in all competitions. He has still found the back of the net twice but has played only 86 minutes of first-team football across all the competitions.
This is in stark contrast to last season when Sinclair was a regular and was impressing under both Brendan Rodgers and Lennon. He featured in 55 games in all competitions last season, scoring a total of 17 goals and assisting six times as well.
Those numbers were even better in the 2017-18 campaign under Rodgers. He had scored 18 times and had assisted 17 times in all competitions for the Hoops, playing regularly on the left flank.
Ever since he arrived from Villa Park, Sinclair has appeared a total of 166 times in all competitions. During this time, he has scored 62 times. He has previously played for Manchester City, Chelsea, Swansea, Birmingham City and Plymouth Argyle.
Does Scott Sinclair deserve first-team football this season?
He does!
Let him go
TIF Tactics
The arrival of Mohamed Elyounoussi on loan from Southampton has been one major reason why Sinclair’s game time has reduced this season. The Norwegian has been a regular on the left-wing, playing 12 times in all competitions and contributing to 13 goals so far.
At the age of 30, Sinclair can’t let his career stagnate when he isn’t playing regularly. And the way Celtic are playing without him – winning in Europe consistently against a side like Lazio, shows that they aren’t doing harm without playing the former Villa man.
Indeed, he has time till December. If he doesn’t play much, he has to seek an exit. Since his deal runs out in the summer, clubs can sign him for a lesser fee.