Scott Sinclair sold on Celtic transfer by Stiliyan Petrov

Scott Sinclair marked his Celtic debut by scoring the winning goal against Hearts on Sunday

Scott Sinclair says he was encouraged to sign for Celtic by former Parkhead midfielder Stiliyan Petrov.

The 27-year-old also says that working with manager Brendan Rodgers for the third time influenced his decision to leave Aston Villa for Scotland.

Following his £3.5m move, Sinclair hopes to rejuvenate his career.

"[Petrov] told me about the atmosphere and the fans. He thought it would be great for me, to get my football back on track," said Sinclair.

"You saw it when I came on and sprinted from my half to get onto the ball. That's what I want to bring, the excitement back for playing.

"It's been a massive impact from the manager in my choice of coming here. I played under him at Swansea, that was my best football, which led me on to sign for Manchester City.

"He lets me go and express myself. I worked with him at 16 at Chelsea. He thought it was best for me to move out wide, because I came as a striker. He thought that was the quickest route to play in the Chelsea first-team, which it was.

"Over the last two or three years, the football hasn't been great for me and I just wanted to be at a club, enjoy it and playing under a manager who knows me and gives me the confidence to play freely.

"Because I've known him for so long, he was saying 'get your football back on track, enjoy it, play games', and at this stage in my career, that's the best option for me. With Celtic being a massive club, it was a no-brainer."

Sinclair made an immediate impact on his debut, scoring the winning goal against Hearts on Sunday. He only arrived in Glasgow for a medical 24 hours before the game at Tynecastle.

Celtic is the 14th club of his career and the former Manchester City and Chelsea winger wants a period of stability after signing a four-year deal.

He hopes that "scoring goals, my trickery, my speed" will endear him to the Celtic support.

"I've been at numerous clubs. It's all down to stability, if you look back at how many managers I had at Villa," Sinclair said.

Sinclair worked with manager Brendan Rodgers at Chelsea as a teenager, and then at Swansea

"Managers have different opinions on players. With the manager here, he knows what I bring and I know what to expect from him, and that's why it was my choice. He led me to this club and I just want to enjoy my football again.

"When you haven't got much confidence and you're in and out of the team, you're not at your best. I kept digging in and I kept going to the gym and doing extra. It's broken through now, I'm happy to be here and I can't wait to kick on.

"The fans were unbelievable. You saw my celebration, running to them, and I want that bond with the fans.

"At some clubs I've not had that, because I've been on loan here, there and everywhere and you're not really a stable player for the team. I'm here for four years and I want to show the fans excitement and make a massive impact."