Scott Sinclair: I'm back to being the player I was before £8m move

Scott Sinclair has hailed Celtic for helping him to rediscover his best form after the attacker netted twice in the club's 5-0 victory over Astana.

Scott Sinclair celebrates after putting Celtic 3-0 up against Astana. Picture: SNS

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Sinclair’s double in the Champions League play-off helped put Celtic on the verge of the group stages, and the £26m windfall which comes with it.

It heralds a strong start to the new campaign for the 28-year-old, who was named PFA Scotland’s Player of the Year last season.

The success he’s enjoyed since coming to Glasgow is in sharp contrast with the frustration experienced during his time with Manchester City and then Aston Villa.

Happy in his football once more, Sinclair believes he’s now firmly back at the level which convinced City to spend £8m for his services five years ago.

He said: “We still have one more game but this is why I came to Celtic. I wanted to play in the Champions League, to get to the group stage and play against Europe’s best.

“It has taken time to get back to my top level, which I showed against Astana. When I look back now, to when I moved from Swansea to Manchester City, this is what they bought.

“Now I’m at Celtic I’m enjoying it and you can see I’m back to normal on the pitch. It is still new to me. At the Etihad I got the odd five minutes or I was on the bench.

“I’m a real part of this team, I am so happy to be here and now I know what it’s all about, and know a lot more about the level of the 
Champions League.”