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Ipswich’s rollercoaster journey over the last three years has been well-documented.
Back-to-back promotions from League One and the Championship, to the Premier League for the first time in 23 years and then back down to the second tier. There has been excitement and drama at every turn.
And George Hirst has been there for it all.
After joining the club on loan from Leicester in January 2023, he helped the League One promotion cause with six goals and two assists in 21 appearances and, after signing permanently six months later, he helped the Championship promotion cause with seven goals and six assists in 26 appearances.
During the latter, he had established himself as Kieran McKenna’s talisman, but a ruptured hamstring, which required surgery, kept him out for the first four months of 2024.
Knee injuries denied him 12 Premier League games last term, too, meaning since April 27 2024, Hirst has only managed seven league starts, with his other 22 league appearances all coming from the bench.
“It’s been tough, more so because I feel like the injuries I’ve had have been so unavoidable,” he tells Sky Sports.
“If I’m getting injured as a result of something I’m not doing, that’s easier to stomach because I can take it on the chin and say it was my fault. The injuries I’ve had have just been really bad luck and there’s nothing I could’ve done in the weeks or months before to prevent them from happening.
“Having just got to the Premier League and then getting injured, it was disappointing in the sense of not wanting to let that opportunity breeze by me. You never know in this game when that opportunity is going to come again.
“The hardest thing was to keep level-headed. I’m not going to sit here and say every day was great; if you ask the staff, there were days when I came in that I was pretty hard to work with! It was just about staying consistent, keeping on with my rehab, getting back and hopefully being in better shape than I was before.”
It has not just been injuries that have kept him out of contention, though.
Liam Delap excelled in his first Premier League season, scoring 12 goals and eventually earning a move to Chelsea, who triggered his £30m release clause.
Liam Delap (right) was Ipswich’s first-choice striker in 2024/25
“It [being out of the team] is difficult and it can feel like the opportunity has gone missing,” Hirst admits. “But Liam was absolutely fantastic last season and made it pretty hard for me to get into the team.
“We got on really well off the pitch and that can be a weird dynamic at times because we’re both fighting for the same shirt. It was healthy competition and we pushed each other to be better as we knew, if we dropped the ball, the other one was ready to take over.
“I played a few games towards the end of the season and felt I deserved to do so; in this game, I feel like you get the rewards for the work you put in. All you can do is work as hard as is humanly possible, that’s how I see it. It’s coming in every day, showing the best version of yourself.
“I’ve always been the first person to look at myself. If I’m not playing, ultimately, there’s something that I’m not doing or somebody is doing better than me.
“That’s down to me to put that right, that’s down to me to increase my levels, to give the manager a different choice to make. It’s tough, but competition is competition. It’s always going to be in football and it’s something I do relish.”
In a team that deploys a solitary striker, patience is key. Hirst, who made his senior Scotland debut in March, has shown that in abundance and now has the chance to lead the line again.
Ipswich know how important he can be for them and handed him a new four-year deal earlier this summer. He was also officially handed the No 9 shirt on August 5.
“I’m the happiest I’ve ever been at a football club,” he says, struggling to contain a smile.
“For me, no matter how much goes on behind the scenes, if I don’t feel valued or wanted by the club I’m at, then it’s probably best to move on at that point.
“I’ve never felt that for one second here and that’s the main reason I wanted to stay.”
Hirst scored three Premier League goals for Ipswich last season
Later on in the day, there’s time for a brief chat with McKenna. “Whether Liam was here or not, there would’ve been a big role for George,” he says. “It’s a busy season and you need strong players. George is a really strong player and is improving all the time.”
With four goals in four pre-season friendlies, it is safe to say Hirst is raring to go.
“It was a shorter off-season, being away with Scotland and then starting earlier as the Championship starts before the Premier League season, but it’s helped me come back in probably the best shape I’ve ever been in.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been more ready to attack a season than I am right now. That’s honestly how I feel.
“I understand the opportunity I’ve got, to be Ipswich’s No 9, to go and be that talisman, the focal point is something I’ve always thrived on. It’s something I feel like I’ve really got the opportunity to do now and I’m at an age where I feel like I can really nail that down.
The 26-year-old made his senior Scotland debut in March
“The Scotland call-up and trying my utmost to be Scotland’s No 9 gave me another kick up the backside to really crack on with what I was doing in the off-season.
“I didn’t have much time off, but I didn’t play loads of games last season, so I didn’t feel like I needed the rest, to be honest. It was a case of enjoying the summer, but coming back with the fire in my belly that this can be a really big season for me.”
Ipswich are the favourites for the Sky Bet Championship title with Sky Bet, no doubt given the fact that the majority of the players in their Premier League squad are still there.
They begin their campaign on Friday night, when they travel to St Andrew’s to take on Birmingham, live on Sky Sports.
Friday 8th August 7:00pm
Kick off 8:00pm
Hirst acknowledges it is unlikely to unfold similarly to 2023/24, when the newly-promoted Tractor Boys stunned everyone to finish second with 96 points, just one behind champions Leicester.
“The way we did it last time was so, so special,” he recalls. “I think we’re going to be the hunted rather than the hunters this time, which is going to bring a different dynamic.
“We knew what got us to where we were a couple of years ago and as much as we had so much quality in that squad, it wasn’t just the quality that got us promoted, it was all the other things behind the scenes people don’t see that puts you in a position on Saturday to go and win a game. Those are things you can double down on.
“People will call it pressure [to be favourites], but I think we’re pretty fortunate and it’s a position we should be thriving on if people are going to call us that.”
Watch Birmingham vs Ipswich in the Sky Bet Championship curtain-raiser live on Sky Sports Football from 7pm on Friday night; kick-off 8pm.
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