FORMER Sheffield Wednesday striker George Hirst has raised the stakes ahead of the Owls' key trip to League One promotion rivals Ipswich Town - and says that the hosts are determined to knock the Yorkshire visitors 'off their perch.'

Hirst, the son of Owls legend David, left Wednesday in 2018 to move to Belgian outfit Leuven ahead of later switching to Leicester City - with a string of loan spells having followed.

The 23-year-old now finds himself at Ipswich, with the forward netting in their midweek FA Cup fourth-round replay loss against Burnley at Turf Moor, his first goal since scoring for Portsmouth at Hillsborough on the final day of the 2012-22 regular season.

Speaking to the Suffolk press ahead of Saturday's game at a sold-out Portman Road - third-placed Town are six points behind leaders Wednesday, having played a game more, Hirst, who has been booed by Wednesdayites in previous games against his former club, said: “They are where they are in the league for a reason and, ultimately, we need to go and try and knock them off their perch."

George Hirst in his Sheffield Wednesday days. Picture: Steve Ellis.

On whether the game is given added spice by his associations with the Owls, he commented: “Personally, yeah. I’d be lying if I said it didn’t,” he said.

“But at the end of the day it’s a big game no matter who we’re playing against. We need wins, no matter who we play and we’re the chasers at the minute.

“Whether it’s Sheffield Wednesday or someone lower down the league, the boys are thinking about going and winning the game. We’ll be ready.”

Former Sheffield Wednesday striker George Hirst aiming to knock Owls 'off their perch' in crunch League One game with Ipswich Town