Town striker George Hirst has admitted his dry spell in front of goal has been playing on his mind, but remains confident that hard work will see the goals return sooner rather than later.

Since netting twice in the Blues’ 4-1 victory over Queens Park Rangers in November, Hirst, who celebrates his 27th birthday today, has scored just one goal in his last 15 matches in all competitions.

Friday’s disjointed FA Cup exit at Wrexham emphasised Town’s struggles for goals from the centre-forward, where Kieran McKenna’s much-changed side failed to register a shot on target in the 90 minutes.

Hirst, who had to recover from a minor groin injury during the Christmas period, says that is simply the life of a striker and that he is working relentlessly to find his goalscoring form once more.

“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,” he said. “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.

“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.

“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.

“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.”

Despite the mood surrounding the Blues’ cutting edge, Town find themselves as the second-highest scorers in the Championship with 51 goals in 30 league matches this season.

The left-wing position has been by far the biggest contributor, with Jack Clarke (12) and Jaden Philogene (nine) providing 21 of those on their own.

Clarke’s form is particularly strong, with only Swansea City’s Žan Vipotnik having found the net more often in the Championship so far this campaign.

Hirst said: “We’ve been scoring from a lot of different areas. We’ve done really well on set pieces and that side of the game as well.

“People go through the season, people are hot and cold and you just hope that you’ve got people who can pick up the slack. Clarkey and Jaden have been absolutely flying on the goals front.

“Clarkey’s still fit, Jaden’s hopefully not too far from coming back and as a forward unit we can all keep chipping in.

“The cliché is like London buses. You wait all that time and then the next thing you know, you get one and you’re off and running again. That’s the life of a striker, I wish I could score every single week but that’s not the reality of it. Keep working hard and put myself in the right positions and the goals will come.”

On dealing with criticism that has come his way, Hirst responded: “It is what it is, I’m not really too bothered. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. When I’m scoring, it’ll be good things being said, and when I'm not scoring, it will be not so good things being said. That’s the life of a striker.

“It’s not something I’m alien to, I’ve been around my dad a lot walking through Sheffield when I was younger and I’ve heard a lot of things that have conditioned me.

“People are more than entitled to say whatever they want to say, I take it on the chin. If I’m not scoring and they want to say something, get back scoring and you don’t have to listen to it.

“All I can do is put myself in the right positions at the right times and the goals will come.”

Hirst’s father David was also a centre-forward, going on to become a legend at Sheffield Wednesday while also earning three caps for England during the early 1990s.

The Blues striker says having his dad around during tougher spells can be hugely beneficial.

“Of course, he’s been through it himself,” he said. “You speak to any striker, they’ve probably been through a little period of time where they’ve not got on the scoresheet at some point and confidence isn’t flowing through your veins as much as it has done at times.

“All you can do is keep putting the reps in training, get to a matchday, and keep doing it and doing it. If it doesn’t come off, you keep doing it. The results will come and the goals will come. If I can keep working hard, then I'm not too worried about that.”

The battle to be Town’s starting centre-forward appears to be a three-way fight between Hirst, Iván Azón and Chuba Akpom.

Former Championship top scorer Akpom has also featured in a deeper role, while Como loanee Azón is showing signs of improvement during his first season in English football.

When asked about his own role in Azón’s development, Hirst said: “He’s a grown lad, he’s experienced enough himself and he’s got experiences that I haven’t got yet. I can try and help as much as possible, but I think he’s learning himself and he’s been playing well recently.

“He’s a very good player and if I can help him, I’ll help him and there’s things that I can learn from him. As a forward unit — including the wingers, the 10s, the strikers — we can all learn something from each other and all help each other be better.

“That’s the main goal in training, pushing each other every day and getting the best out of each other.”

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