Preston North End boss Frankie McAvoy has told LancsLive that he feels that Scott Sinclair hasn't done as well as he would have hoped this season.

The attacker was far and away one of the club's best performers last season as he notched up nine goals in the Sky Bet Championship, however this season he has hardly got a kick for the Lancashire outfit.

Sinclair has only featured 13 times this term, with his only two goals of the campaign coming against Mansfield Town in the Carabao Cup as he continues to struggle to get into McAvoy's starting eleven at Deepdale.

Speaking about the player's lack of form this term, the Preston boss was quick to tell reporters exactly what he thought recently:

"At the moment, Emil (Riis) and Seani (Maguire) have just done that wee bit more than Scott has done.

"I am hoping he can do well, I put him on on Saturday hoping he could do well and maybe get the goal or spark it into life, but it is difficult.

"If he was doing it, he would be playing; at the moment he's not done as well as I would've hoped but at the same time Emil has scored 11 goals and Seani, for me, compliments him better - it is just trying to get that balance with the front two."

McAvoy has certainly struggled to find a role for Sinclair in his now favoured 3-5-2 formation and it is for that reason that the ex-Celtic man has been continually left on the bench.

The 32-year-old forward is out of contract with Preston come the summer of next year, which means talk over his future will only accelerate over the coming months.

The Verdict 

Many at Preston would have hoped that Sinclair would have built upon the fine performances that he put in last season, however he has failed to really set the world alight for his side thus far.

The system that North End are currently playing doesn't fit his style and as a result he is becoming one of the main sufferers of this tactical switch from the manager.

He now has two choices - stick it out and hope that he can break back into the team or look for a move away from Deepdale in January, either on loan or permanently.

Sinclair should be playing some of the best football of his career right now as he is in his prime, however he now runs the risk of just being a bit part player as he progresses towards his mid thirties.