Edouard will breathe life into Europa campaign, says Sinclair
SCOTT SINCLAIR has backed Odsonne Edouard to shoulder the responsibility of leading the line in Celtic’s European campaign on his own.
With Leigh Griffiths unfit and Moussa Dembele long gone, the 20-year-old will be expected to live up to his £9million transfer fee as Brendan Rodgers’ side attempt to get their Europa League campaign up and running at home to RB Leipzig on Thursday.
Edouard has 11 goals to his credit this term and Sinclair — who struggled himself after moving from Swansea to Manchester City in an £8m move as a 23-year-old back in 2012 — insists the French striker has already shown he has the pedigree to cope with the responsibility.
‘There’s a lot resting on Odsonne but he’s been fantastic since he came here,’ said the winger.
‘He’s scored goals and played really well for someone so young.
‘I think he is the man for big occasions. I think he’s shown that. As a striker, when you score, it gives you confidence to get more.
‘I don’t think Odsonne even thinks about his price tag.
‘As a player, it doesn’t bother you how much you’ve been bought for.
‘Odsonne’s a really good goalscorer. He’s shown that already with the goals he’s scored but he’s only young, so he’s still progressing and maturing as a player.
‘Odsonne’s quite quiet and he’s still learning English. He can only speak the basics right now, but he’s a funny character and a good guy to have around the squad.
‘Thursday night will be tough against Leipzig but we need to go into it 100 per cent and get the win.’ Sinclair has struggled for form himself this season, but a goal from the spot in the midweek 5-0 league win at Dundee played its own part in an overall revival of confidence. ‘I’m feeling great about my form right now,’ he said. ‘It’s always good to get that goal, which can be a spark. ‘Everyone’s chipping in now, we had five different scorers against Dundee and that has to be good for the team. ‘Obviously, it was frustrating for me not to be playing. The manager sometimes went with a different shape, with a midfielder playing in my position, so I had to wait my turn. But I’ve always believed in myself, I know what I can do.’
In a week dominated by events involving cointhrowing and more general abuse, Sinclair expressed the view that being targeted for verbals in opposing grounds is something that is never going to stop.
‘Personally, I’ve never really felt threatened by supporters on the pitch,’ he said. ‘You get abused when you go to different stadiums, but, in football, that will never go away. You just get on with it.’