It was not a formal meeting as such but the 10 squad members who were not involved in that first game came to a unanimous agreement.

Sinclair, who was not involved in the opening game but starred as an early substitute against Argentina, revealed: ‘‘It’s tough not playing.

‘‘You’re there and you feel you might as well be at home at some times. But the lads who hadn’t really played a lot spoke and we just said that we’d look at the bigger picture.

‘‘It might be us in the next game so you have to stay on your toes. That’s all the manager wants. He’s got to make a substitution and he wants the player coming on to be ready.

‘‘That’s what we’ve all got in mind if we are called upon - to make sure we try our best to change the game.’’

Sinclair was not the only player to make his first appearance at this World Cup against Argentina as Teddy Sheringham and Wayne Bridge were also called upon.

With Joe Cole and Kieron Dyer having appeared as substitutes against Sweden, while Nicky Butt came into the side against Argentina, that leaves just six players who have not yet featured at any stage.

They are keepers David James and Nigel Martyn, as well as defenders Martin Keown, Wes Brown and Gareth Southgate and striker Robbie Fowler.

However, Sinclair made it clear that the strength of the squad spirit is down to the attitude of those who are not playing regularly as much as that of those who are.

‘‘I think the manager has picked some of the players for that reason - that they’re not going to cause trouble and make it an unhappy camp if they’re not involved,’’ added the West Ham midfielder.

‘‘Everyone is there for the bigger picture of the team.’’

Sinclair found it difficult to handle the situation of being on standby after the official squad was named, flying back to England to be with his pregnant wife before Danny Murphy’s injury led to his recall.

‘‘It was a test of my character, especially with things going on at home with my wife not very well,’’ he admitted.

‘‘It was probably good for me to get home and see my wife, and take stock of the situation so when I did get called back out, I was in the squad and a big weight was taken off my shoulders.’’

He duly produced his best international performance against Argentina in Sapporo as an 18th-minute replacement for Owen Hargreaves in adeptly filling the left-sided void.

‘‘I don’t think I’ve proved a point as such against Argentina, but I did show Sven what he’s seen for West Ham,’’ added Sinclair.

‘‘I felt comfortable there. I thought I’d just try and get my teeth into it and try and affect the game.

‘‘I was up against Javier Zanetti, who is regarded one of the best players in the world, so I thought that if I didn’t try and put him on the back foot then he’d do that to me.

‘‘I thought I’d try and get in there first. But I was happy with way that I took my opportunity and really got stuck into the game.’’