New United loan signing Sinclair Armstrong is looking forward to displaying his goalscoring prowess in front of the Yellow Army.
Despite being only 18 years old, Armstrong has already experienced many things a seasoned professional would aspire to do, having made his break into senior football three years ago, under the tutelage of a former Premier League favourite.
“I was playing Under-15s football, I had a good coach in Damien Duff, and all thanks goes to him,” began Sinclair.
“I think my performances for the Under 15s were just very consistent, I was scoring goals upon goals upon goals, and then I’ll never forget the day he phoned me and said I’d be playing for the first team against Celtic. I was only 15, and I remember telling my ma’ and my da’ – I just couldn’t believe it.”
That experience, in the form of a pre-season friendly at the Tallaght Stadium in July 2018, was clearly a moment to savour for the young Irishman, and set the tone for some remarkable progress over the coming years, with interest in him coming from far and wide.
“I came on for about 30 minutes and it was just an unbelievable experience, and something I’ll never forget. I remember we were getting absolutely hammered. I was on the bench and the coaches were saying to me that there’s no pressure, just go out and do what you do on the pitch.”
Following that, a trial with Bundesliga outfit Hoffenheim preceded another similar period with Queens Park Rangers, with the Championship club convincing him to put pen to paper at Loftus Road.
“Going to Germany was amazing, to go over to another country just to experience it, and see what the quality is like. Obviously it was a very different quality over there, and I learned a lot. I then went to QPR for a trial, and from there they liked me, and signed me.”
International honours weren’t far away either, with Sinclair attending an U19 training camp at Loughborough University last month, in what was another proud moment for the player.
“I attended the Under-19s camp, we played two games, against the University and then Nottingham Forest U23s. I scored against Nottingham Forest, and got picked for the games this month versus Sweden, but unfortunately I couldn’t go.
“I ended up not going, but just hearing I got called up for the U19s, it was an absolute honour to put on the Irish jersey, and it’s something I’ll never take for granted. I’ll just be looking forward to keep going now, and hopefully I’ll be in the next squad.”
It seems to be one of football’s quirks that when one door closes, another opens, and with Armstrong staying at home rather than travelling abroad, it paved the way for Gulls boss Gary Johnson to offer the young bustling centre-forward a loan move to Plainmoor.
“It happened when I found out I couldn’t go on international duty. I got a call from Chris Ramsey [QPR techincal diector], saying that Torquay United would be interested in having me on loan. For him to have the faith in me to just say go over there, and do what you do, I couldn’t say no, and I’m just looking forward to getting on the pitch and seeing all the fans on Saturday.”
Although the English Riviera weather seemed to initially do its best to impress Armstrong, that first impression was to prove somewhat short lived. Thankfully though, the welcome from United’s first-team contingent was far more consistent.
“I couldn’t believe it – on Sunday it was absolutely amazing, I was down at the harbour having a good old walk, and then it was lashing down with rain!
“I’m always up for a challenge, if I wasn’t, I wouldn’t have took this opportunity. Since the age of 15 people have been telling me I look like a 25 year old, so it’s nothing new to me. I’m absolutely buzzing. I’ve had two sessions now, and I just can’t wait to get out there on Saturday. Hopefully we put on a good performance.
“I obviously watched Torquay, the videos on YouTube, to find out in hindsight what I would be working with, and I’ve seen the quality, and I’ve seen how they play. I feel that the way they play, it’s a bit of me, if you know what I mean. The transition from defence into attack – it’s always attack, attack, attack.
“It’s about getting the ball upfield and scoring goals, and as a striker, I want to score goals. I feel like that I’m in the right position to do that, and I have the right players around me to feed me balls so I can score goals. They’re a good set of players, and they’re good people as well. They’ve welcomed me with open arms, so I’m thankful to the Manager and the Assistant Manager, I can’t wait to get going.”
Sinclair’s ambition to succeed is only matched by his obvious excitement at playing in front of his new supporters.
“For me individually, I want to score goals, I know that I’m only 18 years of age, but I’ve come here to just do my thing and score goals to be honest. I think what I’ll bring to this group is the mentality to win. Nobody wants to lose, and I don’t want to lose. I feel like I can add that into the team, with a smile in my face, getting the fans involved, and that’s the number one thing.
“Football is nothing without the fans. I feel like I can add pace and excitement into the team and I feel good, healthy, and I just can’t wait to get going and see the fans on Saturday. Hopefully the boys can put in a decent performance.”