Former Celtic captain, Jackie McNamara, has had his say on whether or not frozen out star, Scott Sinclair, will be seen again at the Parkhead club in an interview with Football Insider.
McNamara was speaking as the Hoops enter into a busy period of fixtures prior to the winter break where squad rotation could be key.
So what did McNamara say?
Asked if he thought the Parkhead faithful had seen the last of Sinclair, McNamara 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”.
Is McNamara correct?
On paper, yes. However, football isn’t a game played on paper! It would be an ideal time to bring Sinclair out from the cold with dead rubbers against both Rennes and Cluj coming up in the Europa League especially.
Celtic have qualified for the knockout stages so there is no reason to risk key players such as James Forrest and Odsonne Edouard when Sinclair could fill either role.
Neil Lennon has had other opportunities to play Sinclair or to put him on the bench but has gone with Lewis Morgan, this may be an indicator of where the Celtic hierarchy place the Englishman in their thoughts – right at the back.
It doesn’t look as though Sinclair will be signing a new contract any time soon so he will either leave in January with Celtic getting a fee or look for one last pay day and sign a pre-contract agreement to leave in the summer.
Lennon may see it as a wasted opportunity for Morgan or another talented youngster like Karamoko Dembele to get a taste of first-team action if he plays Sinclair.
Should Lennon play Sinclair in the remaining Europa League fixtures?
Yes
No
It will be interesting to see what route Lennon goes down with the next couple of Europa League fixtures and whether or not Sinclair sees any minutes, it would be a great opportunity to rotate the squad and play the former player of the year but, you never know what is going on behind the scenes.