Town may already be relegated to the Championship, but Blues striker George Hirst insists there is still plenty to play for in the final weeks of the Premier League season.

Three matches remain before Town’s return to the top flight draws to a close with two of those at Portman Road, home clashes with Brentford and West Ham United sandwiching a trip to fellow relegated side Leicester City.

With an insurmountable 15-point gap to West Ham United above them, the Blues could be forgiven for beginning to prepare for life back in the Championship next season.

But Hirst, who scored his fifth goal of the season in Saturday’s comeback draw at Everton, says he and his teammates still have a point to prove at Premier League level.

“A bit of self-pride,” he said. “Go and prove a point and show that we will be back and we can compete at this level, that’s going to serve us well going into next season back in the Championship.

“It’s just about building, learning, continuing to do what we do and play the way we play, and I think that will serve us better in the long run.”

One of the biggest disappointments of the season has been Town’s home form, which has seen them win just one of their 17 league matches on Suffolk soil this campaign.

The Portman Road record is something Hirst is keen to amend in the final knockings of the season, highlighting the opportunity the Blues have to collect more victories.

Asked why Town have been better on the road, he said: “I don’t really know, it’s just the way it’s fell, I don’t think there’s any one reason. If there was one reason why that’s been the case, then we’d have probably tried to fix it by now.

“That’s just how it’s turned out, we wish we could have given them more to cheer about at home but we’ve got two home games left now and hopefully we can do that in the last two.

“We definitely want to give the fans something to cheer about, especially back at Portman Road. That’s a big aim of ours now towards the end of the season.

“We’ve got three games that I think are winnable games if we go and put on a performance as best as we can and show the character that we did [against Everton].
“They’re three games that we can definitely get points from.”

The Blues will once again be competing with Leicester and Southampton next season after the pair were also relegated back to the Championship alongside Kieran McKenna’s men.

While there may be motivation to finish 18th and above both the Foxes and the Saints, Hirst says that is not something that has been discussed.

“It’s probably not at the top of our thinking,” he admitted. “We’re not really worried about next season just yet, we’ve got three games left in the Premier League and we’re going to go out there and enjoy it first and foremost and give the best account of ourselves that we possibly can.

“If that means finishing third-bottom as opposed to second-bottom then great, but if it doesn’t we’re going to end up in the same place.

“It’s about us and what we can learn from this experience, what we can learn going forward and ultimately us as a team being better and putting ourselves in the best position come the start of next season.”

Town will likely be installed among the early favourites for an instant promotion back to the Premier League, but that is of no interest to Hirst.

“I don’t know yet, I’m not a betting man so it means nothing to me,” the 26-year-old said. “We’re going to go back to the Championship, give it the best shot we can and hopefully it can be a successful season.

“It’s an exciting thought and it’s definitely something that once the season is done we can really focus on. You can go on holiday and really think about that excitement in your belly that you know you can go on and be one of the best teams in the division next season. I’m sure that will be a nice feeling when it comes.”

On his first taste of top flight football this season, Hirst said: “It’s been very tough. Every team is a good team – there's no easy games, there’s no gimmes or anything like that and we’ve certainly found that out the hard way. It’s also been lessons learnt for myself, over the course of the season I’ve definitely improved ten-fold as a player.

“I think we will be a far better team in the Championship next season than we were last season, which is a pretty good place to be considering how good we were last season. That’s definitely something for us to take forward.”

The Scotland international added: “Just playing against better opposition. Even with the players we’ve brought in, you’re playing against a better standard of opposition in training. You’re playing against better players on the pitch so you’ve got to be smarter with your movement.

“At times you’ve got to be a little bit nastier, stronger, more physical and use your body better. I’d like to think that in every aspect of my game I’ve improved. I’m by no means perfect and there’s still plenty that I can work on which is also a nice place to be.

“It’s nice to know that I’m a better player now than I was this time last year but there’s also plenty more room for improvement.”

Photo: Reuters

SamWhiteUK added 10:14 - May 7 Hirst is going to be a BEAST in the Championship next year! He's had some really good performances lately and with his work rate, goals and bringing teammates into play, he's really quite a complete player.
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ipswichultra added 10:50 - May 7 As we approach the final games of the season, it’s time for Ipswich Town to come together and show the pride that defines this club. Relegation is a bitter pill to swallow, but it’s not the end—it’s the start of the next chapter. In every setback, there’s a lesson, and what we’ve learnt this year will make us stronger. The Championship is where we rebuild, refocus, and push for that top six finish. George Hirst, who’s shown leadership and determination on and off the pitch, will be leading our attack next season. His recent words reminded us that belief, unity, and hard work are what carry a club forward—and we’ve got that in abundance. With Marcus Harness returning from loan, a fully fit Wes Burns and Conor Chaplin back in the mix, we’ll be a force to be reckoned with. Opposition teams will know that facing Ipswich Town next season means facing fire, fight, and fearlessness. Let’s finish this season with our heads high—and come back hungrier than ever. Up the Town.

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flykickingbybgunn added 11:26 - May 7 Good comments samwhite and ipswich ultra. I was talking to a Man Utd supporter. He was desolate with his team. I see none of that here. Not in the management, the players nor the vast majority of the supporters. We might be going down but for us this is just a reset. We have got into that inter league league, the yo-yos. That seems like the jump from the Champs is so large it needs more than one attempt. We will get it right eventually.

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Radlett_blue added 11:39 - May 7 Let's hope Hirst can stay fit next season as he should be our #1 striker. We need another robust striker to compete with him or share the weight in a long season & Hamadi can be back-up.
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tractorboybig added 12:05 - May 7 we will struggle to keep hirst
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Denny32 added 13:46 - May 7 It's all very well to say ,hirst and a good few of the team that got us up to Premiership will get us there again and so much to look forward to ..but its there the problem lies...we need to be rebuilding stronger and not go in to the top tier spending another 100 plus on players with no Premier experience and also have to give time for the néw players to gel ..we be fighting for survival desperately yet again not a pretty sight..mckenna needs to have a very strong side built with the minimum of additions to make up the team for the Top flight

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Steve_ITFC_Sweden added 15:38 - May 7 I think the chances are we will lose Delap, Phillips, Cajuste, and Hutchinson at least , so I hope Hirst stays. We are going to need him (and some replacements for those who leave). On the plus side, I have high hopes of Cameron Humphreys.
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johnwarksshorts added 16:37 - May 7 Great attitude. I hope this runs through the entire team. If we can hold onto Hirst and Hutchinson in attack and O'Shea and Tuanzebe at back then I think with another Striker added and a midfielder who can boss it in the middle to take over from Morsy during the Championship campaign then we have a good chance of going up again. It will be far from a forgone conclusion with the likes of Southampton, Leicester, Wrexham and Birmingham in the mix.

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armchaircritic59 added 19:23 - May 7 Denny32, agree with those comments. I was fully behind the recruitment policy for and during this season. However, it can only be done once and not repeated. We now have to recruit on a quality not quantity basis, buying players that will be Premier League ready in two seasons time. Not an easy task when you're in the Championship. I hope our data program model is in full swing now. Going to be an interesting couple of months or so.

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ArnieM added 19:41 - May 7 I feel so sorry for Hirst. Who is our BEST all-around striker. He's had a slap in the face by McKenna this season in my view. Left to rot on the bench when Delap has struggled in the second half of the season when his one man approach has done little to help us. Not that its his fault btw. McKenna has put so much on a very young inexperienced shoulders. McKenna states he hasn't played Hirst "due to Delaps good form". Not sure I'd agree with that. Delap has found leading the line much more difficult since the new year and these PL clubs have sussed his current level of play. When Hirst leads the line, the whole front line works much better. I just hope and pray Hirst isn't tempted away by a newly promoted PL club who can see just how good Hirst really is, unlike McKenna.

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