Scott Sinclair targets Champions League success in bid to return to England fold

22 June 2017 07:54

Scott Sinclair admits he may have to fire Celtic back to the Champions League if he wants to salvage his England career.

The Hoops ace played a massive role for Brendan Rodgers' Invincibles side as they clinched a stunning treble last season.

Sinclair's 25-goal contribution also saw him rewarded with both PFA Scotland and the Scottish Football Writers' Association's player of the year prizes.

But he was left looking on from the outside over the summer as Gareth Southgate's Three Lions took on a Scotland side containing five of his Parkhead team-mates at Hampden.

The £3million signing from Aston Villa has seven England Under-21 caps to his name and also represented Team GB at the London Olympics.

But Birmingham boss Harry Redknapp admits he has no idea why the 28-year-old has not been drafted into Southgate's senior set-up based on his recent red-hot form.

Sinclair is not ready to give up on his hopes of winning a full cap for England but thinks his best chance while playing at Parkhead relies on him being able to showcase his talent in Europe's premier competition.

" I saw those comments from Harry but all I can do is keep my head down," said Sinclair, whose side will take on either Northern Ireland's Linfield or La Fiorita of San Marino in their qualifier next month.

"I still want to play for England, I still have the attributes to play for England but all I'm concentrating on is playing for Celtic and then I'll see what happens.

"(Playing in the Champions League) would be one thing that would help my chances. But that's all out of my control.

"The only thing in my control is to do as well as I can on a Saturday for Celtic."

Source: PA