Rob Sinclair

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. He progressed through the youth system at Luton and signed a one-year professional contract in July 2007. Sinclair was loaned to Conference Premier club Salisbury City on 31 January 2008. He made his debut in a 1–0 victory against Northwich Victoria on 9 February 2008 and scored his first senior goal in a 3–2 defeat away to Woking on 24 March 2008. Sinclair made 16 appearances and scored once during his three-month loan spell, which he described as valuable first-team experience.

Salisbury City Following his release from Luton, Sinclair joined Salisbury on a permanent basis, signing a two-year contract on 22 May 2008. He returned on 18 October 2008, starting in a 2–0 defeat to Stevenage Borough. Sinclair's only goal of the season came on 26 April 2009, scoring from long range in a 2–2 draw with Ebbsfleet United. He made 15 appearances in all competitions that season, scoring once. In the 2009–10 season, Sinclair featured 29 times without scoring. He left the club in June 2010 when Salisbury were relegated two divisions following a breach of Conference regulations relating to unpaid debts.

Stevenage Sinclair signed for League Two club Stevenage on 4 June 2010. He stated that the move arose unexpectedly, as Salisbury's financial uncertainty had prevented them from offering new contracts. 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. Two days later, he made his first start, playing 75 minutes in a 2–1 League Cup defeat to Portsmouth. Sinclair scored his first goals for the club on 26 March 2011, scoring twice in Stevenage's 4–0 victory away to Macclesfield Town. 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. He finished the season with 31 appearances and two goals.

The injury sidelined Sinclair for the first half of the 2011–12 season. 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. he joined League Two club Aldershot Town on a one-month loan on 13 March 2012 to regain match fitness. He made his debut the same day as an 85th-minute substitute in a 2–2 draw away to Crawley Town. Sinclair made four appearances during the loan spell, three as a substitute, He did not feature for the first team for the remainder of the season. However, he rejoined the club on a one-year contract in early September 2012. Having not featured during the opening months of the 2012–13 season, 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. Sinclair made seven appearances during the loan before returning to Stevenage, following his release from Stevenage by mutual consent. 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. 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.

Ahead of the 2013–14 season, Sinclair signed a one-year contract extension to remain at Salisbury for their return to the Conference Premier. 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. He missed four months of the season through injury, returning to the first team in January 2014.

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. 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. He scored his first goal for the club in a 2–1 home defeat to Barnet at The New Lawn on 27 September 2014. Sinclair's performances during October 2014 earned him the Conference Premier Player of the Month award. 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.

Sinclair made 42 appearances during the 2015–16 season. He played in both legs of the play-off semi-final victory over Dover Athletic, but missed the National League play-off final defeat to Grimsby Town at Wembley Stadium through injury. He signed a new two-year contract at the end of the season. Sinclair was a regular in the first half of the season but featured less frequently after sustaining an injury. He made 22 appearances during the season. Sinclair joined National League South club Oxford City on a free transfer on 25 August 2017, 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. He also scored in the subsequent round, a 3–2 defeat to Notts County at Meadow Lane on 2 December 2017. Sinclair scored three goals in five matches during December, He featured in the final as Oxford City won the Oxfordshire Senior Cup with a 5–3 victory over Kidlington on 1 May 2018. He finished the season with 40 appearances in all competitions, scoring 10 goals.

He remained at Oxford City for the start of the 2018–19 season, Sinclair scored four goals in 12 appearances during the opening three months of the season, 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. He made 52 appearances and scored 14 goals during his tenure at the club. 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. 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. He missed two months of the season due to injury, returning for Hemel's final two league matches.

Bedford Town Sinclair joined Southern League Division One Central club Bedford Town on 16 July 2020, signing a one-year contract. He debuted for his hometown club in a 1–0 defeat to Daventry Town in the FA Cup preliminary round on 12 September 2020. The club finished in ninth place in the 2021–22 season.

Real Bedford Sinclair left Eynesbury to become first-team manager at Spartan South Midlands Football League Division One club Real Bedford on 10 May 2022. In his first season, he led the club to the Division One title with 99 points and the Bedfordshire Senior Trophy, defeating Elstow Abbey 6–0 in the final. Real Bedford won the Spartan South Midlands Football League Premier Division title and Premier Division Cup in 2023–24, before winning the Southern League Division One Central title in 2024–25. Sinclair therefore led the club to three consecutive league titles, with Real Bedford losing six of 116 league matches during the three seasons. He signed a new two-year contract in June 2025.

In the 2025–26 season, Sinclair's fourth as manager, Real Bedford finished in third place in the Southern League Premier Division Central and qualified for the play-offs, where they lost to Spalding United in the final. In July 2026, the club won the Bedfordshire Senior Challenge Trophy, defeating Bedford Town in front of 2,383 spectators in the first meeting between the clubs.

Style of play Although Sinclair began his career as a winger, he was predominantly deployed as a central midfielder throughout the majority of his professional career. Following his signing in June 2014, Forest Green manager Adrian Pennock described him as "a very intelligent footballer",

Career statistics

Honours As a player Stevenage League Two play-offs: 2011

Salisbury City Conference South play-offs: 2013

Forest Green Rovers National League play-offs: 2017

Oxford City Oxfordshire Senior Cup: 2017–18

Individual Conference Premier Player of the Month: October 2014 National League South Player of the Month: December 2017

As a manager Real Bedford Southern Football League Division One Central: 2024–25 Spartan South Midlands Football League Premier Division: 2023–24 Spartan South Midlands Football League Premier Division Cup: 2023–24 Spartan South Midlands Football League Division One: 2022–23 Bedfordshire Senior Trophy: 2022–23 Bedfordshire Senior Challenge Cup: 2025–26