Dan Neil will have no difficulty coping with the pressure of representing Rangers if the Ibrox club sign the out-of-contract Sunderland defensive midfielder this summer, according to Scotland striker George Hirst.
The eight-times capped forward played alongside Neil during the second half of the 2025/26 season after the 24-year-old joined Ipswich Town on loan and he was impressed with his team mate’s performances.
The former England Under-20 internationalist played 17 games for the Portman Road club this term and helped them to finish second in the Championship and clinch promotion to the Premier League.
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Speaking during a break from preparations for the World Cup warm-up friendly against Curacao at Hampden on Saturday, Hirst expressed confidence the South Shields-born player will flourish wherever he moves this summer.
“Dan is a quality player and I can’t say a bad word about him as a guy either,” he said. “He came to us in January and fitted in straight away.
“He’s playing for Sunderland having come through their academy and they’re another big club. That area is football mad, you’re either Sunderland or Newcastle. So that in itself comes with a pressure so Dan has grown up used to having it.
“He’s a quality player, on the ball excellent as he’s tidy and clean. And off the ball, he does the dirty stuff as well. I haven’t spoken to him so I don’t know where he’ll end up going. But whoever gets him will be lucky to have him.”
Meanwhile, Hirst has paid tribute to Kieran McKenna, the Ipswich manager who was linked with a move to Celtic back in October, after getting named in the Scotland squad for the World Cup and expressed hope he will remain in charge in East Anglia for some time to come.
Hirst believes he is only playing international football because the influence of the Northern Irishman, who led Ipswich to the third promotion of his five year tenure earlier this month, and national team counterpart Steve Clarke.
“They’ve both been absolutely brilliant for me in different ways,” he said. “The gaffer here gives me that straight talking attitude. He tells me, 'This is what you offer, this is what I see you offering’. And you need to do that.'
“I’ve always enjoyed that. That was the way my dad [former Sheffield Wednesday and England striker David] was with me, always straight to the point and not mincing his words.
“Kieran at Ipswich has transformed me as a player. I’ve had three and a half years now and I genuinely believe I wouldn’t be sitting here now if it wasn’t for him and the work he’s put in with me.
“Both are different managers but they have an incredible way of doing things. Both of them work, as you’ve seen with the success Steve has had here and what Kieran has done at Ipswich. There’s no right or wrong way. Both managers have their own way of doing it and they’ve both been successful.
“You see the links with Kieran because no-one lives under a rock. But I’m delighted that he’s still with us. Hopefully he can stay longer and make me an even better player. For Ipswich, we’ll always be a better club with him as manager.”
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Meanwhile, Hirst has predicted that having five strikers in the Scotland squad will drive up the intensity in training and in the friendly games against Curacao and Bolivia ahead of the World Cup opener against Haiti in Foxborough next month.
Clarke has also called up Che Adams of Torino, Lyndon Dykes of Charlton Athletic, Lawrence Shankland of Rangers and Ross Stewart of Southampton for the finals.
“There’s healthy competition amongst the strikers and that’s needed,” said Hirst. “Because there’s a group of us who all want to play against Haiti. Without that, you probably don’t get the same level in training or have the same drive.
“But when you know there’s plenty of strikers who are capable of playing in that game, it’s up to you to show why it should be you. That’s something you have to embrace.
“Every striker in the squad has got a lot of strengths. We've probably all got slightly different strengths. There are strikers in this squad who will fit any sort of eventuality. I provide a little bit of pace up there. I've got the height as well.
“If he sees me for a certain game, then brilliant. I'm going to be there and ready to be called upon whenever that is, whether that's for one minute, whether that's for 90 minutes. Whoever the gaffer picks is who the gaffer picks. We're all more than capable of making a massive difference. Like I say, we've all got different strengths.”
