Nations League play-off, first leg: Greece v Scotland
Venue: Karaiskakis Stadium, Piraeus Date: Thursday, 20 March Kick-off: 19:45 GMT
Coverage: Watch on BBC One Scotland & iPlayer; listen on BBC Radio Scotland & Sounds; live text coverage & in-play clips on the BBC Sport website & app
George Hirst says he has the full backing of his dad, former England striker David, to make his “dream” switch to Scotland.
David, now 57, made three England appearances while playing for Sheffield Wednesday.
Sheffield-born son George represented England from Under-17 to Under-20 level but has now accepted the call to join Steve Clarke’s squad for the Nations League play-off double header against Greece.
“His first words were ‘go and do it – your grandad would be very proud of you for going to play for Scotland’,” the Ipswich Town striker said of his call to inform his dad of his decision.
“He said the greatest honour in his career was playing international football, so give it your best shot and see where it takes you.
“It’s a bit of a dream come true. It is a chance to play international football and my grandad was Scottish and it’s an opportunity to go and make him proud.”
Clarke needs a robust forward with Lyndon Dykes missing through injury, but Hirst has known for some time about Scotland’s interest.
“It’s always been a big aim of mine,” he told the Scottish FA’s YouTube channel.
“I’ve been asked about it by the media at Ipswich over the last year and I’ve tried to bat it off as I was just going to focus on Ipswich, but if I’m brutally honest, it’s always been on the back of my mind.
“Steve dropped me a text and asked for a phone call and we spoke for five or 10 minutes – he wanted to know if I was interested in playing for Scotland.
“I went to speak to my partner and my family about it, but straight away I said ‘yeah’. It is an opportunity I can’t turn down.”
Hirst has made 20 appearances for the Premier League club this season, only three of them starts, but he timed his third goal of the season perfectly when Clarke scouted him in their FA Cup penalty shoot-out defeat by Nottingham Forest two weeks ago.
A fourth goal followed in last weekend’s 4-2 league defeat by the same opponents.
“Obviously I saw little bits on X after the game about who was there to watch and I knew it was myself,” Hirst said. “I tried to keep a little bit hush about that.
“I knew he was going to be there. Obviously it was good timing to get the goal.”
Asked what kind of player what Hirst says are “the loudest fans in the world” will see, he suggested: “Intense. I like to get after people. I like to press.
“I think the one thing I can guarantee is that, if my touch isn’t there, if my finishing isn’t there for whatever reason, the worst you are going to get is a seven out of 10. Hopefully there will be plenty of goals along with that.”
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