George Hirst admitted Ipswich Town needed to be patient in their 4-0 victory over Wycombe Wanderers as the Blues recorded their eighth straight victory to climb to second in League One.
Hirst headed Town in front with his fourth goal in as many games on 38 minutes before top scorer Conor Chaplin doubled the lead on the stroke of half-time. Wes Burns and a Freddie Ladapo penalty added to the Blues’ lead in the second half.
Town have also now recorded their ninth consecutive clean sheet, extending the ongoing club record to 866 minutes of play without conceding.
Hirst said: "It was a tough game. I've said before we’ve sort of blown teams away in the first 25 minutes in prior games and I think today was a little bit different, where we had to work our way into the game in the first 20-25 minutes and find that footing.
"Fortunately enough, I managed to get the goal from a set piece, which is something we work really hard on. To get that goal gave us a really good footing in the game from that point on and then after that I think we looked pretty comfortable.”
Hirst’s fine header came from a Leif Davis corner as Town scored another goal to their ever-growing list from set pieces this season. The striker says his goal was down to coach Charlie Turnbull, who has been working with Hirst on how best to utilise his strengths.
He said: "Without a doubt, he’s been on to me for the last few weeks now about using my size, being more aggressive and just being more definitive in the runs that I'm making in the box and trusting that the ball coming in from Leif is going to be in the right place at the right time. It’s just about being aggressive and fortunately today it all paid off.”
Manager Kieran McKenna has shown faith in Hirst, a man who had been a clear transfer target since last summer, by starting him in each of the last four matches. The striker has scored in all four and is delighted with the confidence that the goals are giving him.
"Yeah, too right,” he said. "For any striker, that’s massive. I always knew the goals would come and speaking to the gaffer, he said the same to me.
"He reiterated that, as long as I'm doing the right things and putting myself in the right places, the chances are going to come, especially playing in this team where we're creating a lot of chances each game.
"So it was just about trusting the process a little bit and putting myself in the right place at the right time. I feel like now I'm reaping the rewards of that.”
On his overall play aside from the goals, Hirst added: "That’s the sort of stuff that I pride myself on, my dad is big on all that sort of stuff. Without all that, you don't get the goals and the goals are sort of a bonus on top of how else you play.
"For me, the pressing, the running and trying to be that focal point for the team is a massive part of my game and I do feel like when I'm playing my best football, I am that and I find myself being in the right position at the right time, doing things without really thinking about it.
"If you ask anybody, that's when they're playing the best football. I’m enjoying the run I'm on, I'm not taking it for granted, there’s a lot of work that I need to do and a lot of work this team needs to put into to hopefully get where you want to be.
"I've taken it game by game and hopefully if I can keep scoring, we’ll keep heading in the right direction.”
The mantra from everyone at Portman Road has been on taking each game as it comes and not getting carried away and looking too far ahead. Hirst highlighted that mentality and says the squad is already thinking about Monday’s game at Cheltenham Town.
He said: "The gaffer’s big on enjoying the game and enjoying the result, but ultimately we can't dwell on it. We’ve got another game on Monday that is massive again at this point of the season.
"We can't take our foot off the pedal for anybody. We’ll speak about them maybe tomorrow and definitely Sunday and head there with a fresh mindset and ready to go again.”
Asked what the atmosphere is like in the dressing room, the 24-year-old said: "You’d probably expect it to be bouncing. It feels like the focus from everybody is that intense right now that the lads aren't getting ahead of himself.
"The lads aren't bouncing around the changing rooms, it's almost job done today but we've got another game on Monday and that's where our focus is from now on.
"The lads are buzzing anytime we win a game, but we understand the run we’re on and the pressures that other people are going to put on us. But ultimately, we as a team have just got to keep going out there and playing our football and the results will follow.”
Sheffield Wednesday were leapfrogged by the Blues following their 1-1 draw at Oxford United while Plymouth Argyle remain two points clear at the top after they fought back to win 3-1 at Morecambe.
Hirst said the squad are aware that the Blues’ destiny is in their own hands and claimed that results elsewhere are not on the forefront of the players’ minds after a game.
"At the end of the day, with results in recent weeks, we understand the position we're in of it’s sort of in our hands a little bit now,” he said.
"For us, it's what will be will be on that front, we can't control the results of any other games other than the games that we're playing in.
"It's just worrying about ourselves, worrying about how we can be better, what we didn't do so well, what we can improve on and what we did well that we need to keep doing.
"If we take that mindset and that belief and confidence that we showed today at times into every game from now until the end of the season, then I see no reason why we can't keep winning games.
Naturally, there has been some talk about the frontman’s future beyond his loan spell that comes to an end at the end of the season, but Hirst says those discussions can wait until the summer and that he is focused on the here and now.
The Leicester City loanee said: "It's not something I've thought about, I don’t feel like we’ve got the time to be focusing on anything else other than the next game right now. We’ve got Saturday, Tuesday, Saturday, Tuesday, and it's a big time of the season as everybody knows with a lot of big games coming up.
"For me, what will be will be on that front and those conversations are to be had in the summer. Right now, I’m delighted to be scoring goals for this club and hopefully long may that continue and it's full focus on to the next game for me.”
When asked about his goal at Derby County last weekend, Hirst added: "I said to Wes [Burns], it was on the 75th minute and, I'll be honest at that point, I felt like I'd blown a gasket. The legs had sort of started to give way, the cramps started to set in.
"Wes went down the line and I was screaming at him to pass me the ball and, when he didn't, we’ve joked about the split second where I was shouting at him and I turn around and realise the ball was actually sat there with nobody around it.
"So after the goal and when we were celebrating, he came up and apologised to me and I said ‘I don't know why you're apologising to me, I’ve just scored!’. It worked out alright in the end so don't be apologising.
"I feel in a good place, I’m now scoring a few different types of goals now and hopefully that will hold me in good stead for the rest of season.”
On his expert volleyed finish at Bolton Wanderers last month, also on the counter-attack with Burns, he said: "It was just one of those that, when it comes in and you don't think about doing too much with it.
"I think that's what I've been been guilty of, thinking about controlling it, turning, doing this and that and sometimes when it comes you’ve just got to hit it and see what happens. That was a prime example of that.”
Many will have noticed a golf-related goal celebration Hirst has been doing alongside Chaplin in recent weeks. Hirst says this is down to the pair maintaining bragging rights among their teammates when out on the green.
"If you ask Chappers, I'll let him maybe divulge a bit more,” he said. "We’ve got a good golf group in the team and it's great to get the lads together whenever we get the chance and relax a little bit and the boys all enjoy it.
"But me and Chappers are partners and we’ve won the last two out of two, so that's probably as much as I can say on that front.
"We’ve got a good group, there's probably eight or nine of us. Me and Chappers keep winning, that's all that matters. You can ask him about the celebration!”
Hirst’s father David was also a striker and famously scored more than 100 goals for Sheffield Wednesday, the club Hirst left at the age of 19 to move to Belgian side OH Leuven.
The Town striker says Hirst Snr is his biggest supporter and is always around to offer his advice, although he has not yet been able to get to Portman Road.
The Sheffield-born frontman said: "He’s not been down yet, he watches all the games back home on iFollow. He's always the first person to ring me, I've actually got a missed call from him already! I’ll ring him when I get in the car and see what he's got to say.
"He’s there to give me tips, he’ll always give me his opinion on how I've played and, as long as I keep scoring, hopefully I can keep him happy.”