SCOTLAND’S current player of the year plans to answer his critics at Hampden this afternoon.
Apparently Scotty Sinclair has lost some form after the sparkling start he made to his Celtic career last season. The player himself disputes that this is the case but intends to use the Betfred Cup Final to serve up a performance that will have his critics eating their own words.
Sinclair does concede that he’s become a marked man, literally, after such a sensational debut season in the Hoops.
“People can talk to me about having lost my form but it’s not the case,” Scotty said.
“I still feel my form is there I just feel like I have two players on me in every game. Defenders are doubling up constantly.
“That wasn’t happening last season. I’m getting a player standing next to me for the whole game doing nothing now.
“I have to come up with different things to go forward, create and score goals and I think I’ve been doing so. They are making it much harder for me to get on the ball.
“It makes it more frustrating, that’s the problem. It comes to the stage where the guy is literally with you the whole game, you come deep, you go long, go to right back, you could come all the way back to in goal, he’ll follow me.
“The key is to stay patient. It might be the 60th, 70th, 80th minute. The first 45 it is going to be
difficult to get on the ball, it might have to just be bits and pieces.
“So it’s about trying to keep coming up with different things in my game.
“What can I do to get away from my man? What decisions do I make? How do I come to get the ball deep or do I go long? Game by game I look over at all the videos and work at it.
“There will always be one moment. He might man-mark me for 89 minutes and then I’ll get away from him and get the goal.
“Look at the St Johnstone game a couple of weeks ago. They were man-marking me but Stuart Armstrong found me from the corner and I made my mark. The stats are still not too bad but it’s up to me to make more happen.
“If I have two on me then there is always going to be one spare man which is great for us.”
After missing out in Paris, Sinclair is almost certainly starting today. Watch out for a wonderful, magical performance.
www.cqnbookstore.com
