George Hirst determined his first taste of Scotland…

George Hirst determined his first taste of Scotland action won't be his last

As a first taste of life as a Scotland player, the double-header against Greece may not have proven to be the perfect appetiser, but George Hirst is desperate to ensure that it wasn’t his last.

The Ipswich Town striker came off the bench in both legs of the eventual 3-1 aggregate defeat, but even though the tie didn’t play out the way that he, Steve Clarke and the Tartan Army would have wanted, the 26-year-old says that the experience was among the highlights of his career.

Now, he has an added incentive to add to the four goals he has bagged in all competitions for Ipswich Town this term between now and the end of the season, along with his aim of keeping the Tractor Boys in the English Premier League.

(Image: Jane Barlow - PA) As improbable as that particular aim may look right now, a few goals would almost certainly allow him to book his place in the Scotland squad for the June friendlies against Iceland and Liechtenstein, and he hopes, allow him to become a regular for his adopted nation.

“Personally, I was absolutely delighted to be called up, first and foremost, and to get the opportunity to go out there and play for Scotland is absolutely massive to me,” Hirst said.

“[The camp was] incredible. Obviously, it would have been nice to get the result [on Sunday], and it would have been a perfect camp to be honest, but that didn't happen. But I've enjoyed this week so much, and all the boys have been so, so welcoming. “I think it's a really great group. I've been at plenty of clubs in my career so far and not every group is as good as the group is here.

“So, I'm pretty fortunate to be a part of that and they've all made me feel very welcome and very at home. For me personally, it's been sort of a dream come true. “Obviously, never take this position for granted and for me it's about going back to Ipswich now and doing everything I can to put myself in a position where I can get called up again. “There's a situation where this is my first and last camp, but hopefully that's not the case. Like I say, it's for me to go away now and really focus on Ipswich and try and help them stay in the Premier League.

“If I can help do that, then hopefully that leads to bigger and better things.”

Hirst was blown away by the atmosphere at Hampden prior to kick off as the Tartan Army paid tribute to the late, great Denis Law, and he wants to experience it again when the World Cup qualifiers kick off in the autumn.

“I tried my very best to soak it up,” he said.

(Image: PA) “I try not to take it for granted and I never know when I’m going to get that opportunity again to be here and to be a part of it.

“So, I'm sort of trying to treat every opportunity like it's the last one. It was obviously a beautiful moment before the game and the fact that I was on the bench meant I could soak it up a little bit more than if I was probably starting to be fair.

“So, it's something that hopefully I can be a part of again.”

Hirst, whose father David represented England three times in the early 90s, joked that his old man would have been wearing the dark blue on Sunday evening, and revealed he has been giving him a crash course in the words to Flower of Scotland.

“Yeah, I’ll get him up to speed with it eventually,” he said.

“He'll have been watching it. He'll have been in the boozer somewhere! “He wears whatever shirt I wear, whether he admits it or not.

“When I had this opportunity and spoke to Steve Clarke, he was probably the first person I rang and he had no qualms. He was dead set on going for it.”

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