Ipswich Town’s George Hirst Reflects on Promotion and Injury
The buzz around promotion will take a long time to wear off for Ipswich Town fans, but the players are fully focused on the upcoming Premier League campaign. Striker George Hirst is looking forward to the start of pre-season, and is still coming to terms with what his side achieved - returning to the top flight of English football after 22 years away.
The Premier League is the biggest step up for Ipswich Town
“It’s definitely sunk in a little bit more now,” he told Town TV. “Obviously the first few weeks were pure celebrations and stuff like that, now you can chill out a bit, sit back and enjoy what we’ve done a little bit more than we’ve done before.”
Hirst’s season was very mixed, managing to bag seven goals and six assists in just 26 league games. However, he only played 1783 minutes due to a hamstring injury suffered in the 1-1 draw against former club Leicester City on Boxing Day.
A hamstring injury kept Hirst out for four months
“Personally, to end the season like that, it clouds everything else out,” he argued. “The goods, the bads, before that it’s almost irrelevant. The way we ended the season was absolutely wicked.”
Despite the injury, Hirst is looking forward to the Premier League campaign and is excited for the challenge of competing against some of the best clubs in the world.
“It’s the biggest step up than anyone’s ever had really, especially in our team,” he said. “It’s the kind of thing you want to go and do, and we did it from League One to the Championship so we’re hoping to go and have a real good go next season as well.”
Ipswich Town FC are ready for the Premier League
The time for reflection is over, and Hirst’s focus is now on the Premier League. He’s excited for the challenge ahead and is hoping to make a big impact in the top flight.
“There’s no reason why we can’t, it’s all in our own hands,” he said. “I know all the boys are excited, waiting for that first day of pre-season when you come in and see the different footballs, you’ve got different badges on the shirts, all that sort of stuff.”
