Josh Ginnelly: 'I've fought against the grain for years, some people don't like me, Hearts is my chance and I want to do something in Europe'

When Josh Ginnelly talks of fighting adversity for years, it’s a different kind of tale. The backstory to his arrival at Hearts 18 months ago reads like a tour of England’s non-leagues and lower divisions.

Altrincham, Shrewsbury Town, Walsall, Lincoln City, Tranmere Rovers. You can almost hear voices echoing around half-empty grounds amid the smell of burnt pies and wintergreen. Those were the winger's surroundings for years, a necessary and certainly useful apprenticeship following his release by Aston Villa.

In 2014, a Sky Sports scout report rated the then-17-year-old Ginnelly as a great prospect at Shrewsbury with a potential future value of £6million. Struggling out of that suffocating lower-league environment took time. He will be 25 next month and it is hard to begrudge him the rewards which might transpire later this year.

Hearts are firmly on course to qualify for European football once again. Last time they did so, Ginnelly was running about at places like Braintree and Eastleigh, a Burnley player on loan at Altrincham in the English National League. In a few months it might be the Europa League.

“I’ve been against the grain for the last few years to be honest,” he tells the Evening News. “I’ve always had a name, or someone doesn’t like me, or whatever. It’s just the way I am. I’m quite loud, I’m outspoken. I’ve always been up against it in terms of being in the lower leagues.

“It’s not easy to get out of that. When you do get out of it, you appreciate the club you’re with. Being here at Hearts is massive for me. I’ve come out of that and if I was to play in Europe it would be brilliant for me. Not many people go from where I’ve come from and manage that.”

Nothing should be taken for granted yet, a point