Swansea forward Scott Sinclair doesn't believe he got a fair chance to prove himself during a 'frustrating' spell with Chelsea.
Sinclair has 'no regrets' over Swansea move
Swansea forward Scott Sinclair does not believe he got a fair chance to prove himself during a 'frustrating' five-year spell with Chelsea.
Sinclair signed from Bristol Rovers as an 18-year-old in 2005 but only made one league start for the Stamford Bridge outfit.
He also had loan spells at five different clubs in order to gain first-team experience and each time he returned to find his path at Chelsea blocked by stars such as Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka.
The pacy forward eventually decided to seek regular football elsewhere in 2010 and stepped down a division to join Swansea.
Boosted by the opportunity to play regular, competitive first-team football, Sinclair hit 27 goals in his debut season at the Welsh club, helping them earn promotion to the Premier League via the play-offs.
Chance
He is now preparing to face his former club Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Saturday and believes he is not the only youngster who did not get a chance to prove themselves in West London.
"Do I believe I got a fair crack at the whip there? No, not completely," Sinclair told
The Independent.
"I had five or 10 minutes here and there and people say I had the chance to prove myself in that time. But I think you need a run of games and I suppose with world-class players there that wasn't going to happen. Also I played under five different managers that didn't help.
"But, like all young players, you'd go back after a good season on loan, be all optimistic that you're going to be a part of it and play - but it doesn't work like that because there are still all these world-class players in front of you. It's very frustrating."
Sinclair's move to Swansea meant a reunion with Brendan Rodgers, who worked with the player in his role as Chelsea youth coach.
The forward believes much of his progress is down to the influence of the former Watford and Reading manager and has no regrets about leaving the Blues.
Goals
"Brendan was magnificent with the young players at Chelsea," added Sinclair.
"He saw it as his job to fast-track them into the first team. With me, I'd come from Rovers as a striker, but he sat me down and told me 'Scott it's best for you to become a winger'. 'Why?' I asked him. 'Because you've got Didier Drogba in front of you'. He pushed me out on the wing, I started scoring goals and I made my debut pretty quickly.
"It's so good to be under a manager like Brendan who believes in me.
"It was my mentality that one day I knew I'd be back in the Premier League, no matter how and no matter when.
"I just needed to go and play regularly. Yeah, I had to take a lower wage, but I backed my ability. I knew I'd have no regrets."
