Town forward George Hirst has described scoring his first Premier League goal against Brentford as a 'dream', but says his focus after the defeat has swiftly shifted to getting more minutes and helping the team secure more points.

Hirst latched onto a clever pass from Conor Chaplin and lifted the ball coolly over Bees keeper Mark Flekken to put Town 2-0 up in last week's topsy-turvy encounter, before the hosts fought back to win 4-3 in stoppage time.

It was a first-ever Premier League goal for Hirst – who previously made two top-flight appearances with Leicester City in 2020 without scoring – and fulfilled a lifelong ambition, albeit a bittersweet experience as the Blues later succumbed to defeat.

“It's obviously something you dream of as a kid, to be in a position where scoring in the Premier League is a possibility,” said Hirst. “I found myself there at the weekend and I took my chance.

“To get on the scoresheet was amazing for myself, but ultimately that's a complete sidenote when it comes to the grand scheme of things, and to lose the game like we did was really, really tough for all the boys. No-one wants to lose games like that. Personally it was obviously a really nice moment, but definitely overshadowed and sort of forgotten about when we end up losing the game.”

Hirst's strike at Brentford saw him follow in the footsteps of his dad David Hirst, a regular Premier League goalscorer with Sheffield Wednesday and Southampton in the 1990s, who was among the proud Hirst family members watching George net on last week's Match of the Day – even if the Town frontman himself missed the highlights!

“I didn't watch that – I might go back and watch it now you've mentioned it actually!” he said. “I know my family did, I know my dad definitely watched it.

“I've seen it back a couple of times and it would've been nice to have come with some points, but it's one of those things. It was almost seven days ago now so it's put to bed. It was great at the time for myself, but it's put to bed, and as soon as I came in Monday morning, it was back to work to try and do it again this Saturday.”

Registering his first Premier League start and goal marked the latest career milestones for Hirst, who acknowledged the last 12 months have been difficult following two spells on the sidelines, the first from a hamstring injury suffered against this weekend's opponents Leicester City in the clubs’ previous meeting at Portman Road on Boxing Day last year.

Having missed most of the second half of Town’s Championship promotion-winning campaign before returning to action in late April, he then found himself sidelined again for the opening weeks of the Premier League campaign with a knee injury picked up in the friendly against Fortuna Düsseldorf in July.

Taking the opportunity to reflect upon his achievements over the past year, Hirst said the time spent out of action gave him the opportunity to improve his game in other ways.

“You start the year 2024 being out for four months and it's quite easy to sit there and go 'is it going to be one of those years where it's just not going to go my way?’” he said. “We end up getting promoted which, even though I'd been out injured, it made the injury worth it – the fact that the rest of the lads were able to do that and I was able to get back at the end of the season to contribute.

“I think that taught me a lot, to be honest. I think that reset me a little bit in the sense of not taking anything for granted, making sure you're working hard day in, day out, because with hard work you sort of create your own luck.

“I was unlucky to get injured, but it gave me the chance to work on other parts of my game, to work on the mental side of things. I've never looked at anything like that as a bad thing, I've just looked back on everything that has happened in my career up to this point having led me to scoring in the Premier League on my first Premier League start. So I can only be grateful for everything that has happened previously, whether at the time I thought it was good or not.

“It was frustrating as they're probably the worst two injuries I've ever had in my career,” he added. “I worked it out the other day that for the whole of 2024, I'd been fit for about two months or something like that, which for me is completely unheard of. It's not something that's ever really happened to me before – to have two surgeries in that time was not great.

“But again, like I said before, it gave me a chance to work on other things, to get stronger in the gym, to work on my recovery, to put things in place that were going to help me when I came back. Touch wood, there have been no issues since, and long may that continue because I'm enjoying my football right now and just want to get out there and keep getting more minutes.

Despite the frustrating length of time on the sidelines, Hirst said he believes he is now in the best shape ever – or at least the best since his childhood days.

“I don't think any footballer will ever tell you they're at 100 per cent because I don't think I've ever been 100 per cent since I was about 12!” he said. “At that age you don't have any aches and pains!

“But you've just got to get yourself in the best shape you possibly can, and right now, I can honestly say I've never felt better, never felt stronger, never felt quicker, never felt better on the ball. Everything at the minute is in a good spot and I'm just going to keep trying to improve it all.”

Looking back on his achievements in his nigh-on two years at Portman Road, Hirst acknowledged that he has grown as a player and as a character in many aspects, in no small part thanks to boss Kieran McKenna.

“I struggle to think of an area the gaffer and his staff haven't helped me improve,” he said. “They've all played a massive part and I'm very grateful to them for that.

“I know there’s still plenty more room in there to go to the next level again. That's down to me, help from the staff and really taking things in. But it's exciting knowing that as much as people will say I might not be good at this or that, I know what I'm good at, what I need to improve on. As long as I keep being honest with myself first and foremost about where I'm at in my career, we'll keep going in the right direction.

“Just being honest with myself, there's been times in the past when I haven't played at other clubs and I've been guilty of thinking 'why am I not playing', rather than being the one who goes 'no, okay, if I'm not playing, it's because the gaffer thinks I'm not doing enough or I'm not doing as well as somebody else’.

“I think that's where I'm at now. I'm a lot more honest with myself in that sense, and it has helped me massively to understand why I might not be in the team or why I am in the team. I'll just keep building on that.”

With success in the Football League and now action in the Premier League under his belt, international football could be the next milestone for Hirst's career. The Sheffield-born striker has previously appeared for England at U17 to U20 level but could switch his allegiance at senior level to Scotland, for whom he qualifies through his paternal grandfather.

“It's not something I've thought about, to be brutally honest,” he said. “I've only just got in the team last week against Brentford and all my energy up until that point has been about getting in the team. From then on it's about scoring goals and ultimately trying to stay in the team.

“That's something that obviously I'm never going to rule out – everyone wants to play at the highest level possible, whatever that is. Right now, I wish I could say a bit more on it, but there's nothing to say. I'm going to come in, come here every day and keep focusing on Ipswich and see where that takes me.”

Asked whether he would be interested in a call-up to Steve Clarke's Scotland squad for international matches later this month, Hirst replied: “I'll have to wait and see whether there's a call coming or not! I don't know, I can't answer that question right now, that's a conversation for the future, whether that's tomorrow or in five years.

“Nothing's changed in my head, nothing been spoken about. There's been no conversations or anything like that. Just coming in here, Ipswich is my main and only focus right now.

“It's completely out of my hands,” he added. “For me, like I say, it's just about focusing on what I can do for Ipswich, and ultimately that's going to take me where it needs to take me.”

Photo: Action Images

Ipswich Town Polls