Joey Barton believes moments like what occurred at the Mem at around 4:20pm on Saturday afternoon are precisely what will ensure Scott Sinclair remains in a Bristol Rovers shirt beyond January, with the forward set to be a "big player" for the Gas.
Sinclair scored his first ever Rovers goal on his first full start for the club against Rochdale, almost 18 years since he made his debut appearance in blue and white quarters as a late substitute, aged just 15.
The 33-year-old has signed on a short-term contract until the new year, with both Sinclair and Barton admitting they want to take a longer and closer look at each other before committing to a longer deal.
From Sinclair’s perspective, in what could be one of, if not the, last contract in his decorated career, he needs to know Rovers is the right environment at this stage of his life. For Barton and the Gas, they require tangible assurances and evidence that the expenditure on an extended agreement will be financially sound, with the veteran needing to prove he can make a sustained impact beyond the romance of his return to north Bristol.
Certainly the early signs look positive. After a brief cameo against Plymouth Argyle, in the week he re-joined the Gas, Sinclair then played a more substantial 33 minutes at Derby County and caught the eye, while he was the best player on the park over the 80 minutes he was on the field against Rochdale in the FA Cup first round victory.
“For us, it was a case of getting him in the building,” Barton said. “He’s enjoying his football here, he’s obviously playing well, and he’ll only continue to improve with the regular rhythm of games.
“I would imagine, if he’s playing well and he’s enjoying it, it gives us a better opportunity of keeping him beyond January. If bigger clubs come calling it could be quite difficult but, he’s a Gashead, isn’t he?”
Sinclair’s first goal for the club was, fittingly, in front of the Thatchers' Terrace, with his family present, and scratched an itch that has lingered ever since those early baby steps in the professional game as a teenager.
After his time at Rovers was cut short, before it really began, with Chelsea signing him in the summer of 2005, Sinclair has gone on to enjoy a fine career, playing for Aston Villa, Manchester City and, most notably, Celtic.
An explosive, dynamic, wide forward, as he’s aged, he’s had to adapt his game, and although he’s remained in exceptional shape, his body can’t quite do what it once did, particularly in that first 5m. But, as Barton admits, Sinclair’s speed of thought and in-game experience, crafted over more than 500 professional appearances, always provides him with an additional yard of pace.
Such is Sinclair’s outstanding technique, he makes time and space for himself, something that was increasingly pronounced against League Two Rochdale, and as he gets more minutes into his legs, the more effective he’ll become.
“You don’t actually need speed if you’ve got a really quick mind; you can be quick in the body but slow in the mind and also be really slow in the body but quick in the mind,” Barton added.
“I think he has been a player who has been quick in the body, he’s still alright by the way - he’s looked after himself superbly, but obviously the amount of experience he’s got in the mind. You can see when the ball comes to him, he just takes care of it, it’s a friend of his.
“The goal’s an experience goal; just gambling, getting off the back of a run and into a goalscoring area and gets himself a tap-in. That is not easy, although he makes it look really easy because it’s an intelligent movement. But he was constantly a safe option, whenever we went into him first half - it looked like he was going to be our player who opened up the door.
“He’s played for some big, big football clubs, so for us to add him to our group at the time we added him is a really big positive and he’s shown why. I thought he was exceptional. He get the minutes in the tank and, over the course of this season, I think he’s going to be a big player for us.”
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