Josh Ginnelly | I hope to score and create, but the team comes first

Josh Ginnelly hopes he can make an impact at Swansea City, but insists he will be putting team success before individual accolades.

The 26-year-old has become the Swans first signing under new head coach Michael Duff, joining as a free agent after a productive spell with Hearts in Scotland.

The forward, who can play as a striker or out wide, has put pen to paper on a three-year contract in SA1 and is eager to get down to work with his new team-mates.

Ginnelly arrives in SA1 having scored 13 goals and created seven more for Hearts last term.

While he is hoping he can contribute goals and assists in a Swansea shirt, the first priority will be to make sure he is part of a winning team.

“Every player wants to score and assist, and I am no different, but I think seeing the ball go in the back of the net for your team to win a game is what everybody wants,” he said.

“When you are at this level it is a team game, it is all about trying to get to that next level, and we know what that next level is.

“For me, it is team first. If I can get my goals and whatever then great, but it is about the team first.

“That mentality is the key, in the sense that not everything is going to be perfect or pretty, but if you stick to certain fundamentals and your team objective then I don’t see where you would go wrong.

“There will be games this season where we will not be at our best, but if we can grind out results then sometimes those are the best ones.”

The move reunites Ginnelly with Swans boss Duff, who he previously encountered during the early years of his career at Burnley.

And he is looking forward to being reunited with his former team-mate, who he describes as “a winner”.

“I knew the gaffer as a player, and the one thing I think everyone would say about him is that he is a winner,” he added.

“If you go and look at his career, he has won things. He is completely about the team, it’s not about individuals, and I knew I would get that vibe from him because I knew him as a player.

“We had a couple of exchanges (at Burnley) but that was when I was a little boy, and he was a senior professional coming towards the end of his career.

“I was on the end of a few tellings off, but he is a great guy, and I am looking forward to working with him.”

Ginnelly will bring pace and directness to the Swans forward line, having showcased an ability to take a man on and deliver from wide areas, and a nose for goal during his time at Tynecastle.

And he is keen to show the Jack Army exactly what he can do.

“I like to try make clever runs, my game is based around movement and annoying people a little bit by not letting them know where I am,” he said.

“I like to get into areas where I can carry the ball and commit players, and this is the next step for me personally.

“Just looking around here today at all the facilities and equipment, I feel like I have an opportunity to get the most out of being here and I hope I can bring that onto the pitch.

“To be at this club you have to be a very good player, and I want to come here and try and make my mark.

“I work hard, and I want that to come out on the pitch and help Swansea City.”