Ipswich Town: George Hirst confronts the one thing strikers fear most as honest claim made | OneFootball

The 27-year-old only has one goal in his last 15 outings across all competitions

Ipswich Town striker George Hirst has opened up about his barren run in front of goal, revealing what Kieran McKenna has said to him as he goes through a tough time.

The 27-year-old struck twice in that November win at Loftus Road against QPR - and has six league goals in the Championship this season overall - yet only one has arrived in his last 15 outings across all competitions.

For a forward who has started 19 league games and appeared in a total of 26, even he knows that return feels a little low in a side with genuine automatic promotion ambitions, especially after the deadline day fiasco of not signing another striker.

But, Hirst is confident he can turn things around at Portman Road in the near future, as an immediate return to the Premier League is sought for the Tractor Boys.

George Hirst's honest admission on Ipswich Town goal drought

Speaking to TWTD, Hirst was open about how the drought has affected him mentally, admitting that he has “had chats with the boss” - McKenna - about the situation.

Hirst said on his lack of goals, "That’s been something that’s been playing on my mind a little bit recently and I’ve had chats with the boss about it.

“As a striker, you go through ebbs and flows throughout your career and it’s never going to be plain sailing the whole way through."

As per FotMob data, Hirst has had a total of 42 shots in the Championship so far, yet only 17 of them have been on target. Also, given the Scottish international has an xG (Expected goals) of 9.59, it's somewhat clear he's, at the very least, slightly underperforming.

The striker continued in his interview by claiming, "It’s probably the first period that I’ve had since I’ve been at Ipswich. I find myself getting a little bit too eager and a bit too keen to try and get a goal, do something amazing and get the fans on side."

In terms of getting the Tractor Boys' fans on side, a lot of Town fans may still be disappointed with no new striker signing this past January transfer window. This may only add to their frustration of watching Hirst not score - but the striker has revealed what his head coach has told him.

"I’ve spoken to the boss and am speaking to the coaches, it’s just doing the basics, working hard and doing what I do for the team and the goals will come," Hirst said.

"All I can do is keep working hard every day in training and putting the work in behind closed doors. If I keep doing that and keep doing the right things, the rewards will come.

"I’d like to think I’m quite a switched-on lad. I probably think a little bit too deeply into things too much at times rather than just playing my own game and stuff like that.

"Of course, you can overthink stuff and you can let it get to you more than it should do. You’ve just got to trust in your ability to put the work in day in, day out and come through the other side of it no problem," Hirst concluded on the matter.

George Hirst could have third promotion with Ipswich Town

Despite the narrative around Hirst’s cutting edge up front, Ipswich remain firmly in the automatic promotion conversation, five points off second-place Coventry City with a game in hand.

This would, of course, be the Scotsman's third promotion with the Suffolk-based outfit as he was a big part of the club's back-to-back promotions from League One to the Premier League.

McKenna clearly feels that between Hirst, Iván Azón and Chuba Akpom, there is enough competition for the central striker role. However, with margins at the top so fine, every Hirst blank inevitably puts him lower down in the pecking order.

Seeing as though Hirst started the FA Cup loss against Wrexham, a case can be made he'll have to do something extraordinary to regain a starting berth in the Championship. Against the Welsh club, Hirst had the least touches of any outfield player to play 90 minutes, whilst also losing the most duels - nine in total.

There's still a lot of time for the striker to turn things around though, and he could always end up becoming the hero by the time the 25/26 Championship season reaches its conclusion.