Aston Villa’s Scott Sinclair explains the key reason for his return to form

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The 26-year-old winger made it five goals in two games with a brace in Saturday’s 2-2 home draw with Sunderland.

Aston Villa winger Scott Sinclair has put his recent goalscoring form down to getting regular first-team minutes again.

Sinclair, 26, was speaking to Sky Sports after bagging a brace in Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Sunderland at Villa Park, having equalised from the spot in the 11^th-minute after being brought down in the box and then tapped in Jordan Amavi’s cross later in the first-half to put hosts in front.

The ex-Manchester City man’s double came after he netted a hat-trick in Tuesday night’s 5-3 Capital One Cup victory over Notts County, less than a month after another three-goal performance in the club’s pre-season finale at Nottingham Forest.

After a dismal spell at the Etihad Stadium, where he made just 19 goalless appearances in two-and-a-half seasons, the former England Under-21 international looks to be rediscover his confidence in the Midlands and is thankful for being given the chance to show his worth.

Asked about his return to form, Sinclair said: “It’s just games really. Over the past couple of years I haven’t really got many. I didn’t really get that chance that I wanted back at Manchester City, what with going out on loan [to West Bromwich Albion for the 2013-14 season] and being unsettled as a player.

“Now I’m settled here at Villa. I’m happy off the field and I think it shows on it.

“The manager tells me to come inside and make runs, and basically just create and score goals. If I’m doing that then it’s great for the team.

“This week has been great personally. My confidence is getting higher each week and I’m just building on that.”

Continuing on the draw with Sunderland, in which Villa failed to capitalise on their dominance after Jeremain Lens’ levelled things up again just after the break, he added: “I think all the boys are disappointed that we didn’t come away with the three points.

“But we’ve got the point and have to build on that now. We’ll push onto the next game, take the positives and keep going.”

Sinclair initially joined Villa from Manchester City during the January transfer window on a loan deal for the rest of the season, before going on to score three goals in his first seven appearances for the club.

A hamstring strain ended up limiting him to just a couple of brief cameos over the final two months of the campaign but, with the club’s Premier League survival later triggering a £2.5 million permanent move, the former Chelsea product is now desperate to make up for lost time.

Tipped for an England call-up while at Swansea, where he netted 36 times in 91 games before joining the Citizens in August 2012, managed Tim Sherwood will be hoping to see that form resurface over the coming months – especially with the long-serving Gabby Agbonlahor and new boy Jordan Ayew both struggling to provide any kind of attacking impact at present.