Ipswich Town: George Hirst on Leicester clash and his journey so far

When George Hirst slotted the ball home to put Town 2-0 up at Brentford last week, it was the realisation of a childhood dream.

The 25-year-old had already set up the opener for Sammie Szmodics, before Conor Chaplin played him through for a chance to score in the world's best league.

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

“So to get on the scoresheet was amazing for myself, but ultimately that’s a complete side note when it comes to the grand scheme of things and to lose a game like we did was really, really tough.

“No-one wants to lose that, whether it’s your first or 30th loss of the season. So personally it was a really nice moment, but it was definitely overshadowed and forgotten about when we ended up losing the game.”

Like many football fans, Hirst grew up watching his dad David, a Sheffield Wednesday legend, scoring on Match of the Day.

Hirst's dad David knows a thing or two about scoring in the Premier League (Image: PA) So did he get to watch himself hit the net on Saturday night's legendary highlights show?

"No I didn’t to be honest," he admitted. "I might go back and watch it now you’ve mentioned it actually!

“I didn’t have that but I know my family did, I know my dad definitely watched it and that kind of stuff.

“But for me I saw it back in my clips – I don’t literally just sit and stare at my goal, it’s quite an arrogant thing to do in my head!

“But I’ve seen it back a couple of times and it would have been nice to come with some points. 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 as soon as I came in Monday morning it was back to work and try to do it again this Saturday.”

Trying to do it again today means facing his former team Leicester, the side who sold him to Town in the summer of 2023 after a loan spell in Suffolk which saw him fire the Blues out of League One.

He suffered a hamstring injury on Boxing Day last year when he had his first chance to face the Foxes since leaving - so inevitably, his second bite at Leicester, now in the Premier League, forms part of the narrative around this game.

George Hirst only made two senior appearances for Leicester City (Image: PA) "I think there was a lot of lessons learned for myself," he said of his time with the Foxes, the club where he spent four years but had more loan spells (four) than appearances (two off the bench).  

"I could sit here and say I was frustrated that I didn’t play more, but then did I deserve to play more? Maybe not, I don’t know.

“I went out on loan, some worked and some didn’t and then I came here and it just felt like where I wanted to be from the second I walked through the door, it felt like home.

“Me leaving Leicester, there was never any bad blood there, it was just case that I’d come somewhere and finally found somewhere that I really enjoyed being – and I just wanted that to continue.”

Asked if facing Leicester added more significance to the game for him, he said: “For me I’m going to go out there and play as well as I can every single week, no matter who it’s against.

“Yeah, there probably will be a little bit more (significance) – I’ll know a few of the lads there and they know me, and whatever.

“I feel like things like that are more for the fans. I’m going to go and play as well as I can, no matter who we play against.

“But if they want to make it a little bit more needle for that reason then let them carry on with that.”

There was one big positive from his time with Leicester - the chance to learn from iconic Foxes' striker Jamie Vardy, now still banging in Premier League goals at the age of 37.

George Hirst says he learned a lot from Leicester striker Jamie Vardy (Image: PA) “Without a doubt," he admitted, when asked if he'd learned a lot from the rapid, ruthless hitman.

"He’s still someone that I will look at his clips and watch how he plays the game, and how he always has played since he’s been playing in the top flight.

“Yeah, he’s one of those special players that came a little bit later in his career to the Premier League but he epitomises hitting the ground running and there’s a lot of things that he does that I want to be as a striker.

“The work ethic, the energy, the nasty streak when you need it and ultimately being clinical and scoring goals.

“For me personally, there’s not too many better out there to go and study and try to focus your game around.”

Vardy's famously had quite the journey from non-league to Premier League champion - and Hirst's path to his first top tier start and goal is also impressive.

He's had to persevere through high expectations, lack of playing time, failed loans and injuries - so, has he had chance to reflect on that after last week's personal milestone?

Hirst has scored some big goals for Town from League One through to the Premier League (Image: PA) “Yeah, that’s definitely something me and my partner were sat down in the living room last week and having a chat about," he explained.

“It was nice, because you start the year of 2024 being out for four months, and it’s quite easy to sit there and say ‘is it going to be one of those years, is it just not going to go my way?’

“We end up getting promoted, and that made the injury so 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 and it sort of reset me in the sense of not taking anything for granted and making sure you’re working hard day in, day out because with hard work you create your own luck.

“I was unlucky to get injured, but it gave me a chance to work on other parts of my game, work on the mental side of things and do all that.

“I’ve never looked at anything like that as a bad thing and I just look back as though everything that’s happened in my career up until this point has led me to scoring in the Premier League, on my first Premier League start.

“So I can only be grateful for everything that’s happened previously – whether I thought it was good at the time or not."

He's certainly come a long way since his Leicester days. Asked how he's improved since leaving the Foxes, he was emphatic.

Hirst credits Kieran McKenna and his staff with his huge improvements since leaving Leicester (Image: PA) “In just about every area to be honest," he stressed. "I struggle to think of an area that the gaffer here hasn’t helped me improve.

“The gaffer and his staff have all played a massive part and I’m very grateful to them for that.

“I know there’s still plenty more room to go the next level again and that’s down to me, with help from the staff and really taking things in.

"But it’s definitely there and it’s sort of exciting knowing that yeah, ok, as much as people will say ‘he might not be good at this, he might not be good at that’ I know what I’m good at, I know what I need to improve on.

“And as long as I keep being honest with myself first and foremost, we’ll keep going in the right direction.”

He added: "I think to have a home life that is separate from football and just as happy and content (is important).

“I’ve got my partner, who’s amazing, and two dogs who drive me mad every day, so it’s nice to go home to.

“They’re the first pets that I’ve had and no matter how bad a day I’ve had here they’re just happy to see me when I get home.

“Little things like that keep you on the straight and narrow and keep you grounded, so that’s definitely a massive part of it.

“And then just being honest with myself. There’s been times in the past where I haven’t played at other clubs and I have been guilty of being like ‘why am I not playing?’ rather than being the one who says 'well if I’m not playing it’s because the gaffer doesn’t think I’m doing enough or I’m not doing as well as somebody else.'

“So 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’m not in the team – or why I am in the team.”

All of which brings us back to today, a game where Hirst will hope to keep his starting spot in the team and prove a point to the Foxes.

Town drew twice with Leicester when both were flying high in the Championship last term.

Hirst will hope to keep his starting spot today (Image: PA) Now in the Premier League, the Foxes have already bagged two wins and sit five points clear of Town in the early table.

So, how does Hirst see the game going?

"We know a lot about Leicester – ok, there’s a different manager there now, but there’s a lot of the same players," he explained.

“And we are also in a position where we got promoted and we added a lot of quality to our squad, as have they, so I think it’s going to be a close game.

“We’re not naïve to any of their qualities at all. We played them last season and they showed their qualities no end.

"So it’s a game that we really we have to be right up for, it’s a game that at Portman Road we feel we can go and win, for sure – and it’s just about going out there and showing the best version of ourselves.

“And we truly believe that on any given day, if we go and show the best version of ourselves, that can lead us to the points that we want.”