SCOTT Sinclair is hoping to have a far more influential role when Celtic face Bayern Munich tonight than on his last visit to the Allianz Arena – when he was left out of the Manchester City squad.
Sinclair travelled with the Premier League club to Bavaria for a Champions League group game three years ago during an unhappy spell for him at the Etihad.
However, the winger ended up not even getting stripped for a match which Manuel Pellegrini’s expensively-assembled side lost 1-0.
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Sinclair, who scooped numerous Player of the Year awards last season as Brendan Rodgers’s side went undefeated domestically and won the treble, is in a far better place now and is looking forward to featuring in the Group B game.
“I have been here before with City so it’s nice to come back and be more involved,” he said. “It’s a huge difference to the last time as I wasn’t involved at all.
“But now I’m coming back with a role to play and I am enjoying it. It just goes to show the progression in my career, but I want to keep progressing and improving. I’m at Celtic and enjoying Champions League football.
“I am in a much different head space now – I’m scoring and winning. You need to enjoy these occasions because this is what it’s all about.”
Gareth Southgate, the England manager, last week claimed Sinclair wasn’t playing at the level he needed to be in order considered for a call up to his squad.
But the player is hopeful he can force his way to Southgate’s attention by performing well in the Champions League spotlight.
“I hope he is watching,” he said. “For me, it’s about concentrating on doing well and these are the games to do it in. We’ll see what happens.”
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