He later played semi-professionally for Oxford City, Hemel Hempstead Town, and Bedford Town. After retiring from playing in 2021, Sinclair moved into coaching, joining Dunstable Town as a first-team coach in October 2021 before being appointed as manager of Eynesbury Rovers later that month. He was appointed manager of Real Bedford in May 2022, leading the club to three consecutive promotions following successive title-winning seasons.
Early life
Sinclair was born and raised in Bedford.[3] He attended Wootton Upper School.[4] He has three brothers, Stuart, Scott, and Andrew, all of whom played football at either a professional or semi-professional level.[5][6]
Career
Early career
Sinclair began his career as a trainee with Luton Town and was a regular in the club's under-18 and reserve teams, where he played primarily as a right winger.[7] He progressed through the youth system at Luton and signed a one-year professional contract in July 2007.[8] Sinclair was loaned to Conference Premier club Salisbury City on 31 January 2008.[9] He made his debut in a 1–0 victory against Northwich Victoria on 9 February 2008[10][11] and scored his first senior goal in a 3–2 defeat away to Woking on 24 March 2008.[11][12] Sinclair made 16 appearances and scored once during his three-month loan spell, which he described as valuable first-team experience.[8][11] He was released by Luton in May 2008 without making a senior appearance for the club.[13]
Salisbury City
Following his release from Luton, Sinclair joined Salisbury on a permanent basis, signing a two-year contract on 22 May 2008.[13] Manager Nick Holmes noted that Sinclair had impressed during his loan spell and would play a significant role in the squad.[13] He sustained a knee injury in a pre-season friendly against Port Vale, which sidelined him for the opening two months of the 2008–09 season.[14] He returned on 18 October 2008, starting in a 2–0 defeat to Stevenage Borough.[15] Sinclair's only goal of the season came on 26 April 2009, scoring from long range in a 2–2 draw with Ebbsfleet United.[16] He made 15 appearances in all competitions that season, scoring once.[17] In the 2009–10 season, Sinclair featured 29 times without scoring.[18] He left the club in June 2010 when Salisbury were relegated two divisions following a breach of Conference regulations relating to unpaid debts.[19]
Stevenage
Sinclair signed for League Two club Stevenage on 4 June 2010.[20] He stated that the move arose unexpectedly, as Salisbury's financial uncertainty had prevented them from offering new contracts.[3] He made his debut in the club's first Football League fixture, a 2–2 draw against Macclesfield Town on 7 August 2010, appearing as a 71st-minute substitute.[21] Two days later, he made his first start, playing 75 minutes in a 2–1 League Cup defeat to Portsmouth.[22] Sinclair scored his first goals for the club on 26 March 2011, scoring twice in Stevenage's 4–0 victory away to Macclesfield Town.[23] A groin injury sustained in training after Stevenage's 3–3 draw with Bury ruled him out of the club's play-off matches, in which they secured promotion to League One.[24][25] He finished the season with 31 appearances and two goals.[26]
The injury sidelined Sinclair for the first half of the 2011–12 season.[27] He later stated that complications had arisen, including his tendon detaching from the bone by two centimetres, which also prevented medical staff from administering injections.[27] Having made no first-team appearances for Stevenage that season,[28] he joined League Two club Aldershot Town on a one-month loan on 13 March 2012 to regain match fitness.[29] He made his debut the same day as an 85th-minute substitute in a 2–2 draw away to Crawley Town.[30] Sinclair made four appearances during the loan spell, three as a substitute,[28] before returning to Stevenage on 9 April 2012.[31] He did not feature for the first team for the remainder of the season.[28]
In June 2012, Sinclair left Stevenage despite being offered a one-year contract extension, stating that he wanted to play first-team football rather than be used sparingly.[32] However, he rejoined the club on a one-year contract in early September 2012.[33] Having not featured during the opening months of the 2012–13 season,[34] he joined Aldershot Town on 6 November 2012 for a second loan spell, initially for one month before the arrangement was extended for a further month.[35][36] Sinclair made seven appearances during the loan before returning to Stevenage,[34] where he did not play for the first team again.[34]
Return to Salisbury City
Sinclair returned to Salisbury City, with the club competing in the Conference South, on 31 January 2013[37] following his release from Stevenage by mutual consent.[37] The move reunited him with his brother, Stuart Sinclair, for the first time in his professional career.[38][5] He scored on his first appearance after returning to the club, coming on as a 57th-minute substitute and scoring Salisbury's second goal in a 3–1 home victory against Bromley on 2 February 2013.[39] He featured regularly during the second half of the 2012–13 season, making 19 appearances and scoring twice as Salisbury secured promotion to the Conference Premier via the play-offs.[2][40]
Ahead of the 2013–14 season, Sinclair signed a one-year contract extension to remain at Salisbury for their return to the Conference Premier.[41] He started in the club's first game back in the highest tier of non-League football, a 1–0 defeat to Tamworth at the Raymond McEnhill Stadium on 10 August 2013.[42] He missed four months of the season through injury, returning to the first team in January 2014.[41] Sinclair made 21 appearances during the season as Salisbury finished mid-table, but the club were relegated due to financial irregularities.[41][43]
Forest Green Rovers
In June 2014, Sinclair was one of three Salisbury players to join Conference Premier club Forest Green Rovers, signing a two-year contract.[44] He made his debut on the opening day of the 2014–15 season, playing the full match in a 1–0 away victory at Southport on 9 August 2014.[45] He scored his first goal for the club in a 2–1 home defeat to Barnet at The New Lawn on 27 September 2014.[46] Sinclair's performances during October 2014 earned him the Conference Premier Player of the Month award.[47] He made 46 appearances, scoring three goals, as Forest Green were defeated 3–0 on aggregate by Bristol Rovers in the play-off semi-finals.[2][48][49]
During the 2016–17 season,[54] Sinclair was a regular in the first half of the season but featured less frequently after sustaining an injury.[54] He made just one appearance in the final two months of the season and missed the club's play-off matches, as Forest Green earned promotion to the Football League for the first time.[55] He made 22 appearances during the season.[54]
Oxford City
Having not made any appearances for Forest Green in the opening weeks of the 2017–18 season,[56][57] Sinclair joined National League South club Oxford City on a free transfer on 25 August 2017,[56] despite interest from National League clubs Barrow and Wrexham.[56] He made his debut the following day, scoring the opening goal in a 1–1 home draw with Welling United.[58] Sinclair was part of the Oxford City squad that reached the FA Cup second round for the second time in the club's history, playing the full match in a 1–0 away win over League Two club Colchester United on 4 November 2017.[59] He also scored in the subsequent round, a 3–2 defeat to Notts County at Meadow Lane on 2 December 2017.[60] Sinclair scored three goals in five matches during December,[2] earning the National League South Player of the Month award.[61] He featured in the final as Oxford City won the Oxfordshire Senior Cup with a 5–3 victory over Kidlington on 1 May 2018.[62] He finished the season with 40 appearances in all competitions, scoring 10 goals.[63]
He remained at Oxford City for the start of the 2018–19 season,[2] scoring his first goal of the campaign in a 1–0 victory against eventual champions Torquay United on 14 August 2018.[64] Sinclair scored four goals in 12 appearances during the opening three months of the season,[2] including two in a 5–0 FA Cup victory against Hemel Hempstead Town on 23 October 2018.[65] He left the club by mutual consent on 2 November 2018, with Oxford City citing a change in personal circumstances as the reason for his departure.[66] He made 53 appearances and scored 15 goals during his tenure at the club.[66]
Hemel Hempstead Town
Following his departure from Oxford City, Sinclair joined fellow National League South club Hemel Hempstead Town on 5 November 2018.[67] The move reunited him with manager Joe Deeney, who had recently left his role as assistant manager at Oxford City and made Sinclair his second signing since his appointment.[67] Sinclair made his Hemel debut in the club's 2–1 home victory against Gloucester City on 10 November 2018, scoring the opening goal of the match.[68] Sinclair scored four goals in his first six matches, including two second-half strikes in a comeback win at East Thurrock United on 17 November 2018.[69] He missed two months of the season due to injury,[70] returning for Hemel's final two league matches.[2] He finished the season with 14 appearances and four goals.[2] In April 2019, Sinclair turned down the opportunity to become manager at Weston-super-Mare.[71]
Sinclair left Eynesbury to become first-team manager at Spartan South Midlands Football League Division One club Real Bedford on 10 May 2022.[75][76] In his first season, he led the club to the Spartan South Midlands Football League Division One title, finishing with 99 points,[77][78] and secured the Bedfordshire Senior Trophy with a 6–0 victory over Elstow Abbey in the final on 20 April 2023.[79]
In June 2025, Sinclair signed a new two-year contract ahead of Real Bedford's inaugural season in the Southern League Premier Division Central, having guided the club to three consecutive title-winning seasons.[80]
Style of play
Although Sinclair began his career as a winger,[31][81] he was predominantly deployed as a central midfielder throughout the majority of his professional career.[47][82][83][84] Following his signing in June 2014, Forest Green manager Adrian Pennock described him as "a very intelligent footballer",[44] and praised his work ethic, stating: "his work ethic is fantastic and he works extremely hard for the team. He's very clever with the ball, he finds space very easily and creates opportunities".[44] During his playing career, Sinclair was frequently characterised as both combative[82] and cultured in his style of play.[83][84]
Personal life
He established Sinclair Sports Coaching in 2017, a company that provides coaching in a variety of sports, as well as delivering curriculum physical education programmes and extracurricular clubs in schools.[5][85]
Career statistics
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
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