GEORGE HIRST has pledged to do his late grandad proud after landing an emotional Scotland call.
The English-born Ipswich Town star qualifies through his paternal grandparent Eric.
George Hirst taking part in Scotland training[/caption]
David Hirst playing for Sheffield Wednesday[/caption]
Hirst has revealed his own dad, former England striker David, gave his decision to commit to Scotland his full backing.
He said: “I am delighted. It’s a dream come true to be honest.
“It’s the chance to go and play international football.
“My grandad was Scottish and it’s an opportunity to go and make him proud and all that sort of stuff.
“There wasn’t much of a conversation between my dad and I, to be honest.
“I mentioned that I’d had the phone call and his words were, ‘Go and do it’.
“He said, ‘Your grandad would be very proud of you going to play for Scotland’.
“That was a big thing for me.
“My dad told me his greatest honour in his career was playing international football.
“He straight up said to me, ‘You have that opportunity now, go and give it your best shot and see where it takes you’.
“It wasn’t really much of a conversation. I told him about the call and he said, ‘Yeah, go and do it’.
Hirst was contacted by Scotland boss Steve Clarke in recent weeks and then scored when he watched him in an FA Cup tie against Nottingham Forest.
The former England under-20 cap wasn’t named in the original squad for the Nations League play-off games against Greece due to a paperwork issue.
But he was then brought in after Fifa gave him the green light to play for Scotland.
Hirst could make his debut in the Nations League play-off tomorrow night and expects two tough matches.
He said: “The games will be very tough.
“Nowadays everyone knows Greece are a very good team with good individuals.
“Together, they are a good side and we know it won’t be easy.
“But you just have to look around our squad and see the quality we have.
Steve Clarke watched on from the stands as George Hirst netted in the FA Cup[/caption]
“We will go and give it our best shot, and give them a real good game.
“Hopefully we can come off with a win.”
Hirst is likely to start on the bench in Greece with Che Adam given the nod, but he is fully fit after a good season at club level with Premier League new boys Ipswich.
And he has told Clarke that is ready to play a part in both games as he prepares to make his bow in front of the Tartan Army.
He said: “Personally, I just want to help the team as much as I can – whether that’s for a minute off the bench or starting a game.
“For me, it’s just about coming in and helping the team as much as I can.
“I want to show the best version of myself and ultimately get the wins.
“That’s all that matters. These are games we want to win and need to win.
“We will do everything we can to do that.”
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