Preston North End winger Scott Sinclair can't wait to celebrate goals with the PNE fans again

Sinclair is Preston North End’s leading scorer with five goals, all netted away and helping to put points on the board – Norwich, Brentford (2), Queens Park Rangers and Reading.

The excitement is still there when the ball hits the back of the net, nothing stops the knee slide or celebrating with team-mates.

But in the background there is very little noise, something Sinclair finds quite surreal.

“You still get that amazing feeling when you score, it is almost relief,” said Sinclair.

“There is emotion but when the fans aren’t there it is a bit different.

“You can hear every shout from the manager and you can hear the bench, that is the only atmosphere.

“I suppose that when a goal goes in, your bench is going to be the noisiest part of the stadium – the subs and staff shouting and cheering.

“Hopefully that can change quite soon and some fans will be able to come into the grounds.

“Goals are a big part of my game and I’m always looking to chip in with as many as I can, as well as creating them.

“I’ve scored a few this season but I want to keep them coming.

“Not having the fans there has changed football.”

Sinclair and his Preston team-mates make the trip to Bournemouth on Tuesday night (7.45pm), the second trip south in four days following Saturday’s 4-1 defeat to Watford.

Sinclair was asked to play as a wing-back at Vicarage Road to cover for the fact no full-backs were available due to injury and suspension.

PNE manager Alex Neil changed formation to 3-5-2, with Sinclair operating on the right-hand side and Tom Barkhuizen on the left.

It was not a completely new system for North End, with them having started in that shape against Stoke earlier in the season.

They had also switched to three at the back a couple of times during games.

But it was not exactly a natural position for Sinclair. The 31-year-old said: “The manager had a word with me beforehand about it and I’m happy to fill in anywhere to help the team out.

“With playing Watford, a lot of the role was about the defensive part rather than attacking.

“It’s much different than being an out-and-out attacking player, at times we had to be a back five.

“We didn’t have any of the full-backs available so we had to play that system.”

The fixture computer dealt North End a tough hand with regards to the two away games at Watford and Bournemouth.

Both came down from the Premier League in July after five year stays and the expectancy is for them to make a quick return.

Bournemouth stand second in the Championship and it will be a testing night at the Vitality Stadium. While accepting it will be a big test, Sinclair is not daunted by the occasion in any sense.

Sinclair, signed from Celtic in January, said: “They are one of the best teams in the division having come down from the Premier League.

“We have to be confident going down there and our away record shows we are capable of going to difficult places and getting points.

“We’ve won well at Brentford and Reading, we should have beaten Norwich and got a 2-2 draw.

“As a squad we can take confidence from those results and use that as belief going into other games.

“We were disappointed to lose at Watford but the schedule in this division at the moment means we can’t dwell on any loss, we haven’t got the time.

“With a game every three days or so, you just have to keep going.”

PNE’s last away win came at Reading on November 4. Sinclair scored the first goal in a 3-0 victory that night, Emil Riis and Brad Potts also netting.

That was a fourth away win on the bounce but they’ve been beaten on their travels in the last two on the road.

“When we won at Reading we hoped we would kick on and get a win at Rotherham in the next game,” said Sinclair.

“Unfortunately we hit a stumbling block and that didn’t happen.

“We lost at Rotherham and then the international break came, so we lost some momentum.

“As a team and squad we know we have to get on a winning streak and put more points on the board.

“It’s been a mixed season so far and a bit more consistency would be good.

“I think a lot of teams are up and down with their results, that is probably because of how the season is structured with a lot of games close together.”

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