Former Pompey striker George Hirst in familiar territory at Blackburn Rovers following latest Leicester loan exit

Four months into the season and the frontman is still without a goal for his latest loan club – and in desperate need to show fans what the fuss is about.

It’s as if his start to life at Fratton Park is on repeat at Ewood Park.

Swap no goals in 13 appearances for the League One Blues with none in eight for Championship Rovers.

Hirst, of course, scored on his 14th outing for Danny Cowley’s side in their 3-0 win against Crystal Palace under-21s in the Papa John’s Trophy on November 9, 2021.

That lifted his spirits and we all know what happened next – it helped catapult him up the Pompey pecking order and gave the Leicester loanee the confidence to riffle a further 13 goals between then and the end of the season.

Hirst subsequently ended the campaign as Pompey’s top scorer, which no doubt helped him secure a new three-year deal at the King Power Stadium.

But will the same amount of patience be applied by Rovers boss Jon Dahl Tomasson?

Dropped from the first-team squad for four consecutive Championship games last month, the 23-year-old – who missed a stoppage-time penalty in a 1-0 defeat at Cardiff in October – was used as a half-time substitute against Coventry last week.

Hirst did little to impress, though, adding to the criticism directed at him from the stands.

And he paid the price by once again being left out of Tomasson’s thinking for his side’s 1-0 win against Huddersfield on Saturday.

Speaking to Lancashire Live before his Coventry outing, the Dane said: ‘George is a good lad, a brilliant lad.

‘We also know he didn't have a pre-season and that has been biting him a little bit.

‘We have tried to get him going with game time in that way. Now he has played 90 minutes for the 21s the other day, that was the first time more or less for the whole seasons.

‘When he finished at Portsmouth he only had one pre-season game with Leicester. That is the difficulty when you get players in late that they are missing a good pre-season and also a proper training way and learning how we do things.

‘He is working hard and he is a very positive lad. I am sure he will get fitter and fitter to get minutes. I think everyone understands it but we can forget it (importance of pre-season).’

Part of that plan to get minutes into Hirst’s legs as been his involvement in Premier League 2 games for Rovers’ under-21s.

Unfortunately, to date, even those run-outs have resulted in blanks for the striker, who Pompey fans were desperate to remain at Fratton Park beyond the end of last season.