Celtic strolled to success in a thumping 5-0 win over Partick Thistle in the Betfred League Cup quarter-finals at Parkhead on Wednesday night.
Despite this, there were still some murmurings around Paradise both before and after the match.
There was delight in the performance given manager, Neil Lennon’s decision to rest so many first team regulars. Of particular note was the return of both Tom Rogic and Scott Sinclair. For a team scoring goals at will, the extra firepower will serve Celtic well in the coming, fixture congested, weeks.
Scott Sinclair has not had his issues to seek recently in Paradise. Despite being a key player in winning three straight domestic trebles, Sinclair has fallen out of favour with Lennon this season. After being linked with a move in the summer, Celtic now have to find a way of keeping him happy and getting the best of him over the coming months. His attitude certainly can’t be questioned of late, a recent video of him training alone via The Daily Record shows how keen he is to return.
He is in the last year of his deal and if Sinclair decides to sign for another club under freedom of contract in January then there is not much the club can do but he has certainly shown a desire to return to regular first team football.
Lennon has also been more vocal in his support of Sinclair, offering an olive branch and being impressed with his attitude and performance in the 5-0 victory on Wednesday night,
For a player to have 2 goals in 5 appearances maybe isn’t that great an achievement but when you consider he has only played a combined total of 80 minutes it begins to look more impressive.
Sinclair’s game time has been severely restricted so far this season but with the potential for Celtic to have another 60 game season he must now be considered an attacking option again. He is a proven winner and can point to his previous record for the club to justify at least being given a chance.
You never know what goes on behind closed doors but Sinclair has show that he more than deserves a return to first team action. James Forrest, like Callum McGregor can’t and shouldn’t be expected to play every game – particularly with players like Sinclair waiting in the wings, if you pardon the pun!