New Town recruit George Hirst would rather look ahead to tomorrow’s home clash with Morecambe than reflect on a disappointing result at the weekend, losing 2-1 at Oxford United in his first start for the club.
Hirst, 23, arrived earlier this month on loan from Premier League side Leicester City until the end of the season and, after a second-half substitute appearance in the 1-1 home draw with leaders Plymouth Argyle, he was named in boss Kieran McKenna’s starting line-up for the clash at the Kassam Stadium.
The former England U21 international said: "It was brilliant to get into the team and get going. Obviously, I’d have liked it to finish under better circumstances and to have got three points out of the game. You go into every game wanting that but, unfortunately, you know at times that it doesn’t quite happen.
"We know as a team that we have a chance tomorrow night to pick it up and really get a run going. We don’t really have too much time to reflect on Saturday; it’s more a case of looking forward and seeing what we can put right.”
Hirst was reminded of a second-half opportunity at Oxford that presented him with a chance to open his scoring account for the Blues and added with a smile: "I was hoping you wouldn’t bring that up!
"No, seriously, I guess that’s just the life of a striker. I’m my own harshest critic at times and as a striker that’s what I want to do and that’s why I’m on the pitch, to put the ball in the back of the net, and when you don’t there’s obviously disappointment and a level of wanting to do better.
"But for me it’s just about wanting to get back out there, on the training ground, this morning and work on a few things.
"It helps playing in a team like this because you know that no one is going to score with every chance you get but you know, if you’ve got confidence in the players we have in this squad, that if you miss one there is hopefully going to be another opportunity coming. For me, that’s all I’m looking at, to go and put the next one in.”
Hirst is no different to any other striker having joined a new club, whether on loan or permanently, in that he wants to score his first goal at the earliest opportunity.
"Yes, definitely, the sooner the better,” he said. "I’ve always felt that I am going to be judged on my goals and, like I said earlier, that’s the life of a striker.
"But as long as I’m playing well and helping the team, that’s what matters most. If we win, say, 3-0 tomorrow night and if I’m playing but don’t get on the scoresheet, the most important thing is that we win, not who scores the goals.
"Hopefully, I will have played well and contributed to the result, but with my striker’s head on and being selfish, I have to admit that I want a goal as soon as possible and to go and get as many as I can while I’m here at Ipswich.
"I enjoy the responsibility of being a striker. It’s something that I’ve always enjoyed and I also enjoy that little bit of pressure that comes with being the focal point of the team and trying to be someone that the team can rely on, you know, when they might be in a little bit of bother and they can give the ball to me and I will get hold of it and give that bit of respite.
"Or, when that chance comes, I want to be the one sticking it in the back of the net. For me, I thrive off the responsibility and hopefully there will be a lot more of that to come.”
In common with most, if not all, newcomers to the club Hirst praised his new teammates for the way they welcomed him on board, adding: "They’ve been absolutely brilliant. It’s probably one of the best environments that I’ve been in and the staff have been great as well in helping me to settle in.
"I’ve got myself an apartment here, so no more living in a hotel, and I can go back home to relax after training. It’s been pretty easy, to be fair.”
Being on loan is nothing new for Hirst, who had similar spells at Rotherham, Portsmouth and Blackburn. He said: "I don’t think it necessarily gets easier the more loans you have, but it does make it easier to go into a new changing room and meet lads you didn’t know before.
"I knew a few of the Ipswich boys already, which makes it a little bit easier in the sense that a familiar face or two definitely helps. They can do the introductions to the rest of the squad and show you around the place.
"But ultimately, I’m coming in to try to help them and it’s up to me to go out and prove in training every day that the gaffer and the management were right to bring me here and to gain their trust as well. Hopefully, the more I play and the more I get on the scoresheet, I can start doing that.”