Town striker George Hirst believes there is much more to come from the Blues after back-to-back victories against Sheffield United and Portsmouth at Portman Road.

Hirst has scored in each of the last two matches to take his tally to three goals inside the opening six Championship matches of the season.

Now with a squad beginning to settle after a hectic summer transfer window around him, the Blues frontman believes the side will continue to improve with each passing week.

“There’s still a lot to learn from the new boys and ourselves who have been here a little bit longer,” he said. “It’s still forming those relationships and fine-tuning those relationships as well.

“We’re not perfect, we’re not 100 per cent there yet and there’s plenty more to come from us. It’s an exciting time for sure.”

Breathing down Hirst’s neck is summer recruit Iván Azón, the striker having joined the club on loan from Italian side Como after the deal had initially looked off.

“He’s good,” Hirst said of the Spaniard. “He’s a bit of a different striker to myself, he’s a little bit smaller but he’s stocky and works really hard and he’s got very good finishing.

“I thought he was unlucky with the one today that hit the post [against Portsmouth], which would have been nice for him to get his first goal, especially at home. It’s healthy, competition is never a bad thing so just keep cracking on.

“He’s energetic, he’s a little bit smaller built than me and a bit stockier than me. If we stood next to each other, we’d look completely different strikers.

“He’s similar in a lot of ways in the way he runs and presses, and his finishing is very good. I’m sure he’ll be a massive asset to us this season.

“Competition is never a bad thing and we’ll both keep striving to make each other better and better.”

For the first time this season, Town have a three-game week with the first midweek league clash of the season coming up at Bristol City on Tuesday.

Hirst says recovery is vitally important in ensuring peak fitness for the busy schedule, and plans to spend his day off watching the Ryder Cup, in which he firmly believes Europe will claim victory.

He said: “We’ve not got onto that yet, that would be tomorrow and a Monday morning conversation. But we’ll be ready when kick-off on Tuesday comes, we’ll be in the best position we possibly can be.

“It’s just keeping your focus, keeping your concentration and dialling into every sort of little detail whenever that detail comes. There’s not a load of time to turn on and prepare for the game but it’s the same for them.

“It’s going to be tough for them to prepare to play against us with such little time. It’s about us going out there, putting on the best version of ourselves and hopefully go and get the three points.

“Ultimately the gaffer will put the team out that he thinks is going to win the game and hopefully I'm in that and I’ll be ready to go if he does pick me to play.

“It’s about myself now. I’ll go home, recover well and do everything I possibly can to be feeling as good as possible come Monday when we travel.

“I don’t mind it, it keeps the body going. Too much rest is a bad thing sometimes. Rest, watch all the golf tomorrow no doubt, that will be my plan when I get home to watch the golf all day, and then go again on Monday.”

It is impossible to ignore the fixture that is on the horizon at the end of the week, when Norwich City visit Suffolk for the eagerly anticipated first East Anglian derby of the season.

While it is easy for supporters to look ahead to one of the most intriguing matches on the calendar, Hirst claims the squad have their eyes firmly on events at Ashton Gate on Tuesday.

“That’s got none of my attention just yet,” the 26-year-old insisted. “It’s the next game on, it’s Bristol that has all our focus and that’s how it has to be.

“I don’t think any of the boys have spoken about next Sunday. When the time comes, we will, and we know how big a game that will be when it does come, but we’ve got business to attend to in midweek and that’s our full focus.

“It’s going to be lively, it’s going to be frantic, it’s going to be one of those kinds of games. It’s at the back of my mind right now, but I’ll make sure, as will the rest of the boys who have played in that game, I’ll make sure all of the new boys who don’t know what to expect are ready to go.”

When put to him that it is about time the Blues claimed the local bragging rights, he responded: “Hopefully Sunday is that day.”

Photo: MI News via Reuters Connect

Bazza8564 added 10:16 - Sep 28 Moving in the right direction for sure!
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Linkboy13 added 11:53 - Sep 28 We played well for about 30 minutes players like Cajuste should be getting fit by now Matusiwa and Nunez are both good players . The team of two years ago would have murdered a very poor Portsmouth team but we haven't got Morsy in midfield who not only was a excellent championship player but more importantly a brilliant leader that i haven't seen evidence of in the midfield at the moment. I hope im wrong but the Bristol city game worries me a lot and with the Norwich game coming up we will need to show far more passion and desire.

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gippeswyk added 12:56 - Sep 28 Linkboy13 - a very poor Portsmouth team? They had been unbeaten on their travels including draws away at West Brom and Southampton, so I don't think it accurate to label them poor. Can't we just celebrate that Town were the better team yesterday, by a mile at times, and if they keep improving as they gel, we should win more than we lose. I saw signs of some really exciting partnerships forming yesterday. Up the Town!

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Dissboyitfc added 13:15 - Sep 28 Totally agree gippeswyk, wish i could mark link boy down twice for that comment! Agree with Hirst as well, this team is going to improve no end!
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Dubchief added 15:35 - Sep 28 I agree with the positive comments here but wish Hirst would do as much talking on the pitch as he has done off the pitch already this season, the lad needs to focus on his own game and nothing else as he until yesterdays game has been our weakest link (it’s what i do comment didn’t do him any favours). Best performance by a mile from him yesterday which is encouraging to see but no distractions about the team improvements he must focus on his own game and improving his positioning and finishing. Hirst has missed some sitters this season so far I hope now he will begin to push on up the top goal scorers table and have a fruitful season for Town, we know he can when he is sharp, focused and simply “on it”. Good luck Hirsty and come on you blues!

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C_Thomsen added 18:46 - Sep 28 @Linkboy13, what do you base the fact we would have "murdered" a team like Portsmouth 2 seasons ago? Let's say we compare yesterdays result with 2 years ago, would it be fair to base it on Pompey finishing 16th last season? Let's say so. To widen the comparison, four teams finished on 56 points back in 23/24 (Portsmouth finished on 54 points last season): Watford, Sunderland, Stoke and QPR. Here's how the team of 23/24 "murdered" these teams at home: Stoke City 2-0 Sunderland 2-1 QPR 0-0 Watford 0-0 You would probably have been one of the first to moan about the draws against QPR and Watford, as we lost our advantage at the top, but anyway...

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Daniel72 added 22:56 - Sep 28 C-Thomsen great research... I agree with your point... hopefully a couple of wins would be incoming this week.. if we draw with Bristol ok... it would be so nice... as Astrid Gilberto sang... to hammer Norwich nest week
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