Hirst: Somewhere I Feel Valued and Wanted Friday, 4th Jul 2025 14:36 Blues striker George Hirst says feeling valued and feeling wanted was key to extending his contract at Town to the summer of 2029. The 26-year-old is the second senior player to put pen to paper on a longer-term deal this summer, central defender Dara O’Shea having committed his future to the club until 2030 last month. “First and foremost somewhere where myself and family and everyone’s happy,” Hirst told TownTV “My partner loves it down here, my two dogs love it down here, so I consulted all three of them and made sure that they were happy to stay! “The main thing is I’ve always been someone who wants to be somewhere where they feel valued and feel wanted and that’s why I’ve left clubs in the past. “Being here is all I wanted to do. I couldn’t have enjoyed the last two and a half years any more and to sign for another four years is really exciting.” Hirst initially joined on loan from Leicester in January 2023 and since then has won promotion from League One and the Championship, played and scored in the Premier League last season during which time he won his first senior caps for Scotland, bagging his first international goal in Liechtenstein last month. “If you’d have told me the trajectory we’d have been on when I first signed on loan, I’d probably not really believed you,” he reflected. “To get back-to-back promotions, to then have the first season in the Premier League in 22 years is massive for the club. “To all the change at the stadium at the training ground, everything that’s going on with the club and building that from when I first signed has been mad, really. “It’s something that I’m really excited about, I think it’s something that the fans should definitely be excited about and just delighted that I can continue here.” Hirst, who began his career at Sheffield Wednesday, the club where his father David is a legend, believes he’s a much better forward than when he signed for the Blues. “I think if you look back at the player that I was when I signed two and a half years ago to the player I am now, I can look back and feel like I’m a little bit unrecognisable in the sense of the things that I’ve improved on,” he said. “The way that I know my own game nowadays compared to two and a half years ago, and two and a half years in football is a long time. It doesn’t sound that and it doesn’t always feel like that when you’re playing in it all the time, but for me there’s been a lot of growth personally, on the pitch, off the pitch, and I think going forward is only going to improve. “I’m probably one of the more experienced players in the changing room nowadays, it’s quite a nice role to have and that’s something I thrive on now and something that I really want to kick-on with.” Hirst welcomes the responsibility that being a more senior player brings and says it’s a level-headed group, despite its relative youth. “We’ve got a somewhat young squad, but we’ve got a squad of players who, especially at Championship level, are incredibly good players,” he continued. “We’ve got a lot of players who have got really, really sensible heads on their shoulders who when the responsibility falls on them, great. “For me, it’s about what I can bring to the squad and if part of my role is being a bit more of a leader and carrying the weight on my shoulder a little bit more, than I’m absolutely fine with that.” Looking ahead to the season ahead, he added: “Can’t wait! I got back from Scotland two and a half weeks ago, so it’s been a shorter break, but just raring to go. “It’s a league that we know well, we’ve got previous great memories in and it’s a league we want to go and take by storm again. “I think there will be a little bit more expectation on us this season and rightly so. If there wasn’t then everyone would be questioning why. “It’s a privilege to be in that position where people start to be a little bit expectant of what you can do as a team. “For me, it’s exciting and I’m sure if we do the right work every single day with the boss, with the coaches, like we have done for the last two and half years, then we’ll get to the end of the season and we’ll get the just rewards.” Hirst has made 47 starts and 33 sub appearances for the Blues across his loan and since signing permanently, scoring 19 goals.
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