Q&A with Joel Piroe

JOEL PIROE HAS BECOME THE FIRST SWANSEA CITY PLAYER TO SCORE 20 GOALS IN A SEASON SINCE OLI MCBURNIE IN 2019, AND THE DUTCHMAN IS NOT DONE YET, AS HE REVEALS THE INFLUENCE OF RUUD VAN NISTELROOY HAS HAD ON HIS CAREER, AND WHY HE HAD EVERY CONFIDENCE HIS MOVE TO SA1 WOULD BE A SUCCESS.

Joel, we’ve been on a good run of form recently with four wins from the last five. What’s the feeling been like in the camp?

The feeling is good for sure, this last week has been amazing to tell you the truth. We have been playing pretty well, and we have been starting games well and getting on the front foot.

We are obviously pleased to have put together three wins in a week. To back up beating Cardiff with two more wins made it a perfect week.

The games against Millwall and Derby were against sides who are battling for promotion or fighting relegation. Does it say a lot about your attitude as a squad that you’ve been able to produce and show the intensity to beat teams in those situations?

You know when you face teams in those positions that they are going to push and they are going to take risks. It is always the same when you are fighting for something, and we have to be able to do the same ourselves.

They were tough games, but they were games where I think we played very well and the challenge for us is to continue to back up these performances and results. You mentioned after Millwall that 20 goals was your target for the season. Now you have reached that number, what’s next?

To keep performing well and to keep winning games and we have to see where it will take us in the end. But the team comes first. I love scoring goals, but I think it is better to be winning games.

I just want to finish as well as possible. Now I have reached 20, I don’t want to stop scoring. I want to win as many games as possible.

Did you ever expect you would reach 20 goals in your first season?

I knew I was capable of doing it, I believed in myself. I knew I could score goals I just needed the chance to play a lot of games.

I think I’ve showed what I can do now, and the team is showing what we can do.

I hope we can finish the season well. We’ve shown that the game plan works and that we’ve got the courage and technique to do it.

We just need to keep matching the intensity and get good results.

You scored three goals in four days against Millwall and Derby, and they were all first-time finishes. You must have ice in your veins?

Thank you for that, it’s nice for people say these things but I just try to make the right decision in the moment.

I try to recognise how much space I have before I get the ball. If you know that you have a lot of space, you can just pick a corner and make sure the technique is right.

If you see the goalkeeper is moving to the near post, you can try to hit it in the long one and vice versa if it is the other way around.

We have seen you play as a number nine, but you have played in a deeper role recently with Michael Obafemi in the team. How have you found that?

Sometimes, especially at the start of the season, it was a bit frustrating because we had a lot of possession but I didn’t really get to touch the ball that often.

I like to get more involved and I like to be on the ball.

But, also, when you play a little deeper, it’s a little bit harder to get into the positions to score goals.

As a striker you always want to score goals as many as possible. I think I have adapted well to it.

Yourself and Michael seem to have struck up a good bond on and off the field. What’s your relationship like? We could see you having some fun together on social media last week.

We have a very good bond together. He is a good guy, he likes to laugh a lot and is always smiling.

We like each other on and off the pitch and he brings a good dynamic to the team.

What’s the aim for you moving forward with Swansea?

Of course, I am really enjoying my time here and I hope to

We hope to finish as strong as possible to show the fans that we can repay the trust they have shown in us, we are really fighting for them.

What were your expectations when you made the move to Swansea last summer?

I knew in the previous seasons they had played the play-offs. I was hoping to score as many goals as possible and help the team.

Just as the club would have done their research on me, I also did my research on the club and I could see it was a team that plays good football and I felt we could be a good fit together.

I knew how this club has played in the past and I wanted to adapt as quickly as possible because I liked what I saw.

I didn’t really know how many games I would play, I was hoping to play at least 20 to 25 games and to develop, get into the English style of football.

What about life in Wales, how have you found that?

It’s very nice. The people are very kind – they always try to help you. They really make life easy for you.

We mentioned earlier your first-time finishing. You seem to always strike the ball very cleanly, is that something that has always come naturally to you?

Yes, I think it always came easily to me. When you receive a ball like the one against Derby, where it is rolling really slow to me, as a striker you have to be able to hit that clean.

You have spoken previously of the fact you were coached by Ruud van Nistelrooy at PSV Eindhoven, and he is one of the great Dutch strikers. But, being left footed, is there a bit of an influence of Robin van Persie in how you finish?

They are both great strikers, so to be compared with them is very nice. My childhood hero as a striker was Ronaldo, the real Ronaldo, R9.

But as a Dutch striker it would definitely be Ruud van Nistelrooy.