Preston North End’s talismanic striker Scott Sinclair promises fans his best is yet to come

The former Manchester City, Swansea, Aston Villa and Celtic ace arrived at Deepdale from the Glasgow giants in this year’s January transfer window to much fanfare and excitement among the club’s supporters.

A player who has commanded transfer fees totalling in excess of £12m during his career, Sinclair certainly has an impressive pedigree.

He has countless appearances in the Premier League, the Scottish Premiership and in Europe to his name and he is certainly viewed as a figurehead within the North End squad.

There is no doubt that Sinclair showed flashes of what he is capable of in the two months following his arrival, most notably a brilliant individual effort against his old club Swansea at Deepdale.

But then the Covid-19 crisis struck at the beginning of March and there was certainly a feeling of disruption when the campaign reconvened behind closed doors for the final nine games.

While nothing appears normal in these current times, Sinclair revealed he is starting to feel much more at home now that his family are settled nicely in the North West.

And that will provide him with the platform to show his best – even if North End fans will not get to see it in the flesh due to the ongoing restrictions surrounding fans being allowed back inside stadiums.

“I think it does take a bit of time to settle in when you move clubs,” said 
Sinclair.

“Especially so when you move mid-season and then obviously Covid hit.

“But now I have got a house – I am not in a hotel any more – and I am finally settled in. I definitely feel there is more to come from me and hopefully that will be this season.”

Sinclair has played in front of more than 50,000 supporters on a weekly basis while wearing the green and white hoops of Celtic at Parkhead.

He has also experienced the sights and sounds of a packed Villa Park and Etihad Stadium.

Sinclair admits he is still coming to terms with playing inside empty stadiums where all he can hear is the echoes of his team-mates’ voices and those of the opposition.

“It is very strange,” he said. “I think as the games go by you sort of kind of get used to it.

“But it is very strange having no noise or chants from the fans inside the stadium.

“I never get nervous before games so it doesn’t make a difference to me if there is or there isn’t fans.

“When there is a full stadium it does make a difference, as opposed to when nobody is there.

“But as a player and a professional you go on to the field knowing what you want to do, stay focused and try to do as well as you can.”

Sinclair opened his goalscoring account for the season at the weekend when he slotted home from the penalty spot to hand his team the lead against Norwich City at Carrow Road.

North End went on to earn a point, conceding a late equaliser to be denied all three points in a 2-2 draw.

While disappointed not to get the victory, Sinclair was far happier with the performance, which was much improved from the opening day 1-0 home defeat to Swansea City.

Sinclair is hoping he and his team-mates can build upon the performance against the Canaries.

“We go into every game looking to win but I think if we can get the win against Stoke, we can look back and think four points from the two games is not bad and we can go from there,” he said.

“But we have got to put the Norwich game to bed now, move on and prepare ourselves properly for Stoke. We will go into that game full of confidence and looking to win the game.

“Getting my first goal is always a good thing.

“To get off the mark for the season gives you that confidence and feeling that you’re going to score at any time.”