Celtic winger Scott Sinclair says he still believes he can earn a senior England cap

SCOTT SINCLAIR says he can still force his way into the England squad.

Born and raised in Bath, the Celtic winger has represented his country at all age levels, from Under-17 to Under-21, and played for Great Britain in the 2012 Olympics.

So far, though, a senior cap has eluded him.

At 29, there are many who would argue his chance has gone, not least because Gareth Southgate has shown his willingness to use young players.

Sinclair, inspired by the exploits of the Three Lions in the World Cup, begs to differ.

“After my first season at Celtic, I had ambitions of getting back into the England squad. And it is definitely something that can still be achieved,” he said.

“When I first arrived, it wasn’t something I thought about.

“My aim was to enjoy my football, play well and score goals. I did that and picked up the Player of the Year award.

“However, while my focus was about doing well for Celtic, England has always been at the back of my mind.

“They did so well reaching the semi-final. It’s been a terrific effort across the tournament and the whole nation got behind them.

“I’ve come up with the likes of Danny Rose and Kieran Trippier, so it has been great to see them go out and do their stuff.

“The manager has done an exceptional job with them because the team has played with no fear.

“That’s been a problem in the past, the shackles never really came off and there was so much pressure on them.

“Going into every game, previous England teams had so much pressure leading up to big games.

“But this is such a young squad and it doesn’t seem to have fazed them.

“They’ve just gone out, played freely and did the job.

“We didn’t make the Final but the performances bode well for the future.

“It is exciting for the nation now going into the Euro 2020 qualifiers.

“Hopefully, these players will have learned from all their experiences in Russia and can go even further at the next tournament.”