The secret of Portsmouth's renewed attacking success revealed

The in-form Blues striker believes the developing off-field friendships between him, Marcus Harness and Ronan Curtis is paying dividends on the pitch.

The trio played pivotal roles as Lincoln City were put to the sword on Tuesday night.

Hirst bagged his maiden effort for Danny Cowley’s side and his first league finish, as all three men combined for their side’s second goal.

Red-hot Harness picked up the first goal of the evening on the stroke of half time, seeing him find the back of the net for the eighth time in 12 appearances.

Cowley’s early-season problems were characterised by a lack of cutting edge, but Hirst has undoubtedly played a big role in rejuvenating fortunes.

The former Rotherham man feels off-field relations between the trio are the main reason behind the impressive on-field performances.

He said: ‘All three of us can do a bit of everything.

‘We can all keep hold of the ball, we can make runs down the channel and I think it gives teams a bit of a problem, because I like to think all three of us keep them guessing.

‘Plus the three of us get on really well off the pitch, which of course helps.

‘Then when you get back on the pitch it’s almost second nature that you can go out there and trust your mate to do his job.

‘Like I say, we go out there and have a laugh in training, and then we know when we’re working hard and it’s serious.

‘We go out there in games like Lincoln and even last week where there was a lot of good football on display.

‘We’re showing with the goals how dangerous we can be.’

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