John Eustace has told Derby County supporters to “get right behind the group” and vowed to stay at Pride Park for “not just the short term but the long term” after his tenure started in a 4-0 defeat to QPR on Friday evening.
The former Derby midfielder, who played 62 times for the club and finished his playing career in the East Midlands, left fifth-place Blackburn Rovers to return to the relegation-threatened Rams as the permanent replacement to Paul Warne last week.
Eustace’s decision drew surprise from parts of the EFL community but was made due to a lack of ambition from Blackburn’s owners, his belief in the project under David Clowes at Pride Park, and the opportunity to move closer to his family.
The 45-year-old was shown just how big of a task he is facing as his side were beaten 4-0 at Loftus Road on Friday evening. Ilias Chair was the star in W12, scoring twice and providing an assist, as the Hoops outclassed the visitors in a defeat that saw the Rams drop back into the bottom three.
John Eustace calls on Derby County fans to back the Rams
Eustace remained positive in his post-match press conference, suggesting he had learned a lot about his team and was excited to get working with them on the training ground from Monday.
Asked for a message for the Derby fans, he said: “Just get right behind the group. We’ve got 13 big games and I know how powerful the fans can be. Next week if we can get 30,000 at Pride Park and really back the boys, that would be fantastic.
“We’ve got a really exciting week on the training pitch and lots to work on. I want these players to make the fans proud and that will start next week.”
John Eustace is at Derby County for the long term
Eustace’s last two managerial stints – at Birmingham City and Blackburn – have lasted little more than a year but he has made it clear that he has returned to Pride Park with a lengthy project in mind.
| John Eustace’s EFL management career (Transfermarkt) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Club | Dates | Games | Win% | |
| Derby County | Feb 2025 – | 1 | 0% | |
| Blackburn Rovers | Feb 2024 – Feb 2025 | 52 | 35% | |
| Birmingham City | Jul 2022 – Oct 2023 | 63 | 33% | |
Quizzed on whether his experience in a relegation scrap at Rovers would help him at his new club, He said: “Listen, I’ve come to Derby, not just for the short term, but the long term. It’s a fantastic football club and now it’s my job for the next couple of months is to make sure that we get as much confidence as we can in the group of players.
“You can see that they are low on confidence at the moment and that’s my job now, to make sure that whoever we play against when we go a goal down or we go through difficult moments, the boys can roll their sleeves up and get after it.”
Eustace will get his Pride Park homecoming next weekend when the Rams host Millwall in a Saturday 12:30pm kick-off while his former employers Blackburn visit the East Midlands next month.
Discussion about this post