Scott Sinclair has challenged his Bristol Rovers teammates to develop a strong winning mentality in the remaining matches of the 2023/24 season.
After almost two weeks without a fixture, due to the international break, Rovers face a trip to Port Vale on Friday 24 March and are looking to bounce back after a frustrating loss away to Lincoln City last time out.
With Port Vale up against their own challenges, as Darren Moore’s side seek to retain their place in Sky Bet League One, Sinclair believes the Gas have a great opportunity to bounce back from a difficult loss and claim a victory.
The experienced winger wants to see the side then take their motivation and develop it into an energy that puts the side on a good run of results.
“It was a difficult time, directly after Lincoln City,” Sinclair said. “We’re going through a time where we’re losing one game, winning the next, and we want to find that consistency. I would say the international break has given us some time to refresh, and we’re ready to go again.
“Every player in the team is motivated. We know Port Vale will be tough but we want to get those three points.
“We have a young team and we want to bounce back and get the three points. We want to win games. We’ve got that motivation as individuals and as a team. It’s a great feeling when you get those wins and we want to get into the routine of winning games, which creates a winning mentality, one which could set us up nicely for next season as well.”
The No7 celebrated his 35th birthday earlier in the week but, despite his maturity and experience, is still enjoying every single day as a professional footballer at The Memorial Stadium.
Sinclair is relishing his role as one of the squad’s older heads, offering assistance to the younger players, and hopes he can cap off his career with a continued push for success with his boyhood side.
He added: “With my experience, I think I can help the young ones both on and off the pitch. Even when I’m not playing, I can share my experience and my guidance based on what I’ve been through myself.
“I’m enjoying my football and I want to take each game as it comes. There’s more I want to achieve with Rovers. In the next couple of years, why can’t this Club push for promotion to the Championship?
“That’s the vision and, of course, that will take a bit of time, but we all want to push on and do as well as I can.”