Derby County

Amelia Warren
Fan writer

Image source, Getty Images

After 49 games in charge of Derby County, John Eustace finally secured his first win for the Rams after falling behind.

Eustace's style of play has come under scrutiny after his record in management had seen him take charge of 160 games but win only two of them after coming back from a deficit.

It has been clear across his tenure at Derby, as well as other clubs, that he is not the type of manager who focuses on expansive attacking football.

Instead, he is a manager who prioritises organisation and pressing out of possession to create chances.

I believe Eustace's style of play is largely the reason his turnaround rate in games is so low - but I would not like to see Derby play any other way.

For me, Eustace is bringing the best out of this Rams team and, if anything, we are overachieving by being eighth in the table on 51 points after 35 games.

For some perspective, Derby beat their total points tally for the whole of last season by overcoming Blackburn on Saturday, which is evidence that the work Eustace has done has been nothing short of remarkable.

For most teams I feel as though a stat like this would bring a defeatist mentality, and you would see more 'total capitulation' after they fall behind. However, I don't think we've seen that with Derby.

The biggest example for me, would be Hull City away last Tuesday.

Derby twice fought back to level. But ultimately the Rams went on to lose that game.

And for a majority of fans, it was not a question of Derby not having the desire, mentality, or quality to turn it around. It was more just a sheer lack of luck, and lack of clinical finishing.

This has been a common theme.

But now that Derby are rid of this record, I am intrigued to see whether we do start taking more risks after falling behind in games, like we saw on Saturday.

I am also curious to see how other teams look to play against Derby.

Up until this point, whenever a team has taken the lead they haven't - for the most part - smelt blood and run away with the game.

They have mostly tried to sit back, create the two banks of four defensively, and make it really difficult for Derby to break them down.

Knowing that Derby have now proven their ability to overcome that kind of set-up, I do wonder if we will see teams try and be slightly more expansive? And if they go ahead and attempt to kill the game off, it could work hugely in Derby's favour.

Particularly with the idea of gaps opening up in midfield and wide areas for the likes of Bobby Clark and Patrick Agyemang to exploit.

It has never felt as if Derby are dead and buried after they concede, despite their struggles to get that comeback win, but it is good to finally have some evidence to back it up.

Going forward, I hope ending this drought changes the mentality of supporters and that we can feel more confident in the team even if they fall behind.

You can often catch Amelia Warren, external as a guest on BBC Radio Derby.

Striker Ben Brereton Diaz says Derby County are determined to continue to defy expectations in an effort to gatecrash the Championship play-off places.

The 26-year-old Chile forward scored his fifth goal of the season in Saturday's fightback victory against Blackburn Rovers that momentarily moved the Rams to within three points of the top six.

The win got Derby beyond the 50-point mark, a tally head coach John Eustace has long focused on rather than talk of the club's play-off prospects.

Beating Blackburn moved Derby up to eighth with 11 match remaining and put their promotion hopes back on track after back-to-back defeats.

"It's a great position to be in and we are hunting it [a play-offs spot] down," Brereton Diaz told BBC Radio Derby.

"We don't need to get carried away - we know how many games are left and we just want to see how many points we can get on the board and see what that gets us.

"I don't think anyone at the start of the season would have said we would be in and around it. We have proved a lot of people wrong and are chasing down the top six."

Image source, Shutterstock

Derby County boss John Eustace claims he always knew the Rams would come good after he made it three wins from three against his old club Blackburn.

Derby recovered from 1-0 down at half-time to power to victory thanks to goals from Ben Brereton Diaz, Matt Clarke and Rhian Brewster and Eustace says he was confident they would recover from their slow start.

The Rams are in the play-off hunt after winning five of their last nine Championship games and Eustace told BBC Radio Derby: "To get to this points tally with 11 games to go, I think it's a great achievement from where we were.

"It's been a lot of hard work to get to this point, but the season's certainly not over. Now we've got to really enjoy the next 11 games and see how far we can go.

"I think it shows great progression throughout the club, on and off the field. Obviously, we spoke about how it was going to be, we felt it was going to be a slow start, which it was, but we knew where we'd want to get to and we knew with the right process, we'd get there.

"There's been a lot injured players, a lot of players going out, a lot of players coming in, so to get up to speed was really important. You can see the progression in the season up to now and we've found a way to get results."

Image source, Coventry City FC

You might not hear the old terrace refrain of 'you're not fit to wear the shirt' as often as you used to, but it still has a better ring than 'the shirt's not fit for you to wear'.

Championship leaders Coventry City launched a new collection on Friday, proudly taking inspiration from a kit widely dubbed the 'Worst of All Time'.

A take on the club's infamous brown change strip worn away from Highfield Road from 1978 to 1981, the modern reinvention features what the club calls "a deeper chocolate plum colour with sky blue elements".

Many would suggest it sounds tastier than it looks.

But it's got us thinking... what are actually the worst EFL kits of all time? Let us know which of your club's shirts is hiding in the back of the wardrobe, or even if they were too ugly for you to even part money for them.

We'll collate a list of the biggest eyesores and will give you the chance to vote on the ghastliest of all next week.

Click here to let us know your suggestion, and you can even attach a picture if you really want to convey the horror.

Before Saturday's reunion with his former club Blackburn, John Eustace says Derby want to continue the progress they have made this season.

The Rams went down 4-2 at Hull on Tuesday to suffer back-to-back Championship defeats for the first time since the start of December and are now 11th, six points behind Wrexham in the final play-off spot with 12 games remaining.

The first of those is against Rovers at Pride Park on Saturday (12:30 GMT), a fixture in which Eustace claimed his first victory as Rams boss a year ago to lift Derby off the bottom of the table and spark an impressive climb to safety.

Eustace told BBC Radio Derby: "We'd lost our first three games, it was always going to be a big game, to get that result was great and really kick-started our season to keep us in the league - it was a huge game.

"We've got a number of ex-players who used to play for the club [Blackburn], it's a fantastic club and I'm sure it will be a great game."

He added: "This season was all about progressing, a lot of players coming out and new players coming in, lots going on behind the scenes at the training ground. Up until now we have certainly progressed the club and we want to keep going."

Derby have conceded in 26 of their 34 league games and Eustace says it is something they need to work on.

"We have to defend a lot better," he said. "The main thing we were after (at Hull) was a reaction after Saturday's performance (at Watford) and we certainly got that, the game could have gone either way.

"There were lots of positives to take from it but we have to keep learning from a couple of the negatives.

"We have to start keeping some clean sheets, we haven't had enough clean sheets throughout the season, if you don't do the basics well enough you're not going to.

"We all know we can still do better from a defensive point of view."

Blackburn Rovers will aim to further the gap between themselves and the bottom three as they head to Derby County on Saturday (12:30 GMT).

Rovers will not have to worry about re-entering the relegation zone this weekend with a four point lead on 22nd place Leicester City, however a second consecutive loss could see them back in the mix.

While Derby will be hoping to get back into the play-off race, with two successive losses sending them six points adrift of sixth placed Wrexham.

• Derby are looking to complete their first league double over Blackburn since 2014-15, while they're looking to win three in a row against Rovers for the first time since December 2001.

• Blackburn have lost their last two league games against Derby, more than they had in their previous 11 against the Rams (W9 D1 L1).

• Derby have scored at least once in each of their last 14 home league games, though they've gone on to win just five of these (D5 L4).

• Blackburn won 3-1 at QPR in their last away league game, ending a seven game winless run on the road (D3 L4).

• Since joining the club in January, Mathias Jorgensen has scored three of Blackburn's four away goals in the Championship.

Ed Dawes
BBC Radio Derby commentator

Image source, Shutterstock

Earlier this season, I wrote about the increasing physicality of Championship football and how it has stepped up several levels since Derby County were relegated to League One in 2023.

At the time, striker Carlton Morris was regularly on the receiving end of grappling, holding and, at times, outright wrestling. Morris said he "enjoys the battle, as long as it is not someone who goes down too easily".

With Morris sidelined for 16 matches after being injured in an off-the-ball challenge by a Watford defender, he is now easing his way back through a phased return to the first team, while American striker Patrick Agyemang has been dealing with the full force of opposition defences.

Grappling, blocking and wrestling - Agyemang has been learning the "new" Championship the hard way.

Back in October, having overcome a hernia operation and still finding his feet, he said: "I realise it's going to be like that every game, so I have to be up for it. The things I would think are a foul are not here."

Now, as we approach March, Championship football at times feels closer to what you might see at Twickenham than on a football pitch - and I do wonder how far this will be allowed to go.

Recently, Agyemang has been subjected to constant fouling, holding, and defenders doubling up to effectively sandwich him out of the game.

He is not built in the same way as Morris, who clearly relishes the physical contest. Instead, Agyemang cuts a figure of growing frustration - and temper.

At Hull City, less than two minutes had been played when experienced defender John Egan used the dark arts to get into the American's head.

Two quick coming-togethers followed, both deemed Agyemang's fault by referee Adam Herczeg, and he was booked inside 90 seconds. The initial fouls went unseen; the reaction told the story.

Derby head coach John Eustace has made repeated calls for officials to offer greater protection, saying: "Defenders are fouling him all the time, and we think he needs protecting more than most".

This simply does not happen in the Premier League. In the Championship, however, the first instinct of a defender at a set-piece is often to wrap their arms around an opponent to restrict movement.

Back in the 2016-17 season, the Premier League introduced a strict directive to crack down on holding, pushing and blocking at set-pieces.

Referee Mike Dean famously awarded two penalties in a game between Stoke City and Manchester City in August 2016.

Stoke's Ryan Shawcross grappled and pulled the shirt of Nicolas Otamendi and then City's Raheem Sterling blocked Shawcross off at a set-piece. Letter of the law, both penalties.

This is not about removing physicality from the game, it is about enforcing the laws that already exist.

Holding, grappling and blocking are fouls, whether they happen in the Premier League or the Championship.

As a Level 7 referee, officiating both junior and adult football, I know officials cannot see everything.

But when this behaviour becomes consistent, predictable and targeted, it stops being part of the contest and starts becoming something that demands intervention.

Amelia Warren
Fan writer

Image source, PA Media

After a long-awaited home win against Swansea City was followed up by a display that fell well below Derby's standards at Watford, the Rams travelled to Hull looking to bounce back and close the gap on the play-off places.

Before the game began there were a few eyebrows raised at the backline selected by John Eustace, with the head coach opting for three natural left-backs out of his four starting defenders.

Joe Ward, who has put in some impressive performances at right-back this season, and right-footed centre-back Dion Sanderson were both among the substitutes, leaving questions as to why neither of them were selected to start the game.

This decision would prove costly as Derby looked uncomfortable at the back from the off, with Hull's first two goals coming from two sloppy moments in defence.

Despite this, the Rams were starting to see that they were not the only team who possess defensive frailties, and equalised twice to bring the score level by half-time.

In the second half it was a case of who could be better in both boxes, and ultimately more clinical in front of goal. That team somehow managed to be Hull.

Despite ending the game with an expected goals of 3.27, the Rams were undone by a side who only registered 0.58 in xG.

Of course, stats do not win football matches, but on the balance of chances created, shots on target, and touches inside the opposition's box, Derby were significantly superior throughout.

With perhaps the most telling number from the match being Hull only registering three shots on target across the 90 minutes, despite scoring four goals.

The turning point, in my opinion, came in the 69th minute.

With the scores level at 2-2, Red Bull Salzburg loanee Bobby Clark, had a golden opportunity to fire the Rams into the lead. That chance was missed, and just six minutes later, Hull went 3-2 up instead.

How many times do we see that in football? One team being left to rue missed chances, with the other stealing the lead out of very little.

The overriding feeling from the whole performance was that Derby did not play badly, and Hull were not particularly excellent either.

A few individual errors in Derby's backline, paired with the Rams not being clinical enough in front of goal, left the scoreline flattering Hull.

It did feel as though changes could've been made by Derby quicker as John Eustace only decided to call upon Rhian Brewster and Carlton Morris after Hull went ahead.

For me, this was too little too late, and had the changes been made 10-15 minutes sooner, I think Derby could've nudged ahead whilst momentum was in their favour.

Looking ahead to Blackburn Rovers on Saturday, it's pretty simple really - Derby must be more clinical.

That could be achieved by reintroducing joint top scorer Morris to the starting line-up, and pushing Patrick Agyemang back into a wide role, where I personally believe he looks most comfortable and confident.

The positive thing for Derby is that we now have a plethora of attacking options, of a significantly higher calibre than what we have had in previous seasons.

With the reassurance of that strength in depth, I believe the Rams' current struggles with converting chances to goals won't become a long-term problem, and I fully expect to see Derby put their back-to-back defeats behind them on Saturday.

You can often catch Amelia Warren, external as a guest on BBC Radio Derby.

Derby County manager John Eustace said his team rediscovered their "effort and desire" despite defeat to play-off rivals Hull.

He told BBC Radio Derby after their 4-2 defeat at MK Stadium: "I am disappointed we lost the game. The effort was fantastic tonight, we created some unbelievable chances, and on another night we could have scored five or six.

"Last week at Watford we lacked that effort and desire, and tonight we had it all over the pitch.

"We didn't defend the box well enough, all four goals could have been stopped, for sure. But there's a lot of positives to take from tonight.

"We had to make a lot of changes tonight, the back four was playing out of position, but we are where we are with our injury situations."

John Eustace says Derby's players know they need to keep improving as the Rams prepare for a "difficult test" at high-flying Hull City on Tuesday (19:45 GMT).

The Rams suffered a second defeat in three Championship games and failed to score for the first time in 23 league games as they went down 2-0 at Watford on Saturday to fall to ninth, three points outside the play-off places.

Eustace told BBC Radio Derby: "We were really disappointed with the all-round performance on Saturday.

"The players and staff have had really positive meetings over the last couple of days. We all spoke our minds and everyone is very positive coming away from it and how we have to keep improving.

"When you're 33 games in, the group are very connected, the spirit is very good.

"[Hull is] another opportunity to get three points but there are a still a lot of games to go after that.

"What a great opportunity to go to one of the top teams in the league and try and get a result."

The Tigers are six points ahead in fifth, with a game in hand, but have lost their past two games, having drawn the one before that, all at home.

"Hull have been on a fantastic run, they have got a really highly-respected, experienced manager at the helm, an excellent squad. They have recruited very well, they are in the position probably where they should be and it will be a difficult game," Eustace said.

Eustace added it was too early for Carlton Morris to start after his return from injury and that Patrick Agyemang will learn from a difficult afternoon at Vicarage Road, saying: "You can see the progression, he's come on leaps and bounds since the start of the season and he's only going to get better. It's my job to keep developing him and get him to where he wants to be."

Derby County will seek to regain their place in the top six when they make the trip to fifth placed Hull City on Tuesday (19:45 GMT)

A 2-0 loss to Watford on the weekend meant the Rams were ousted to eighth but are still just three points away from their former haunt of sixth, now occupied by Wrexham.

However, while the Tigers might have a five point cushion in the play-off spots, no wins in their past three games (D1 L2) will have them hungry to try and stop the rot before they come into striking distance of those below.

• Hull are winless in their last six league games against Derby (D1 L5) since a 2-0 home win in October 2019.

• Derby have won each of their last two away league games against Hull both via 1-0 scorelines and will be looking to claim three away victories in succession in this fixture for the first time.

• Derby have won each of their last three away league games against Yorkshire sides, having lost nine consecutive visits to the county before this.

• Derby are unbeaten in their last 11 midweek (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday) league games (W7 D4), conceding just five goals in that run since a 1-0 loss against Sunderland in January 2025.

• Derby manager John Eustace has won all three of his away league games against Hull City, with his sides keeping a clean sheet each time.

Derby County head coach John Eustace spoke to BBC Radio Derby following their 2-0 Championship defeat at Watford.

Luca Kjerrumgaard pounced on a low cross to fire past Josh Vickers to give the Hornets the lead after five minutes.

Derby then, pushing for an equaliser, were caught on the break in the 90th minute, with Mamadou Doumbia sliding home the hosts' second following a Rams corner.

"Very disappointed," Eustace said.

"There's not many games this season where I've felt the opposition have wanted it a bit more than us, and today they certainly wanted it more than us, which isn't what we're all about.

"I think that's why it's important in the Championship, there's always opportunities or moments that kick you and reset you.

"Obviously going into the top six last week, we're playing against teams now who want to get into that top six week in, week out, and we're playing against teams who want to stay in this league as well.

"If we're not at the levels required to compete, then we're going to get hurt like we did today."

Ed Still takes charge of his first home game since being appointed Watford head coach last week.

The Hornets are three points behind their sixth-placed opponents but a win by five or more goals, however unlikely, would see them jump from 12th position and overtake Derby.

• Watford have won their past five league games against Derby – they last won as many as six in a row against an opponent in league competition in August 2008 (6 v Ipswich).

• Derby have lost their past two away league games against Watford (1-2 in February 2021 and August 2024), while they have never lost three in a row away to them.

• Watford are winless across their past seven games in the Championship (D4 L3), their worst run without a win outside the Premier League since a 10-game span between October and December 2013.

• Derby County have won each of their past three away league games, last winning more in a row in January 2024 (5 wins). Meanwhile, Derby's last away league win at Watford was back in November 2014 under Steve McClaren (2-1).

• Derby have scored 13 headed goals in the Championship this season, the joint-most in the league this season alongside Coventry City. Indeed, six of those 13 came from Patrick Agyemang – he is a league leader in that category.

Image source, EFL

Puma's Rainbow ball will return to the English Football League as part of an on-going campaign against discrimination and homophobia.

The special edition rainbow ball was introduced in 2024 to mark LGBTQ+ History Month and will be used at every EFL game from 20 February until 1 March.

Manufacturers Puma will make a donation to Football v Homophobia for every goal scored with their rainbow ball across the Championship, League One and League Two.

The donations will help support education against homophobia and promote inclusion across the season.

The EFL have released a video, external to coincide with the campaign which features a Preston North End fan who was charged with a hate crime following homophobic chanting during an FA Cup fixture against Chelsea.

The rainbow ball will also feature in EFL partner EA Sports' FC 26 video game.

"The rainbow ball is a powerful symbol of the values we uphold across the EFL all season long," EFL chief executive officer Trevor Birch said.

"It not only reflects our longstanding commitment to ensuring the League is representative of all its diverse communities, but also reminds us that we all have a role to play in creating an environment in which everyone feels they truly belong."

Sam Fletcher
Final Score reporter

Image source, Getty Images

As John Eustace celebrates one year at the helm, Derby fans will perhaps be both pleased and surprised to see the drastic turnaround he's achieved.

When Eustace arrived at Pride Park this time last year Derby had amassed just 29 points and had a relegation battle on their hands. Today, following Saturday's win against fellow play-off chasers Swansea, they are in sixth place.

They've also now scored in every one of their last 22 league games, the longest streak of any team in the top four divisions in England.

After a lacklustre first half against Swansea, it was a different story after the break and you could start to see where their success has come from.

They leave no crumbs when it comes to set-pieces and have so many attacking options who are in good form.

With Sam Szmodics now in the fold and top scorer Carlton Morris playing his first few minutes after injury, it might become difficult to choose who to have in attack in the starting 11.

Image source, Getty Images

Derby County head coach John Eustace watched his side move into the play-off spots, and was happy to overcome some indifferent home form.

The 2-0 win over Swansea City was just a fifth home win from 17 league games this season - comfortably the worst record of any of the sides in the top half of the table.

But goals from Rhian Brewster and Patrick Agyemang ensured the Rams climbed above four sides not in action, to end the day in sixth.

"First half the gaps between front and back were too big, which was disappointing," said Eustace.

"Every time we won the ball back, we lost a duel or were a little slower in possession, which gave them the emphasis of the game.

"But they didn't really cause us any issues. Second half we changed one or two things and our shape was much more connected.

"We spoke about how we'd look to beat them on set-pieces and today was very much a set-piece game.

"We haven't won at home consistently enough this year and the main thing was to make sure we won the game."

Image source, EFL

Championship leaders Middlesbrough are celebrating winning both the manager and player of the month awards for January.

Boss Kim Hellberg led Boro to five wins from their six league games last month, with them scoring 14 goals as they chased down the leaders Coventry City before overtaking them at the top of the table last weekend.

Midfielder Alan Browne won the player award, having also filled in at wing-back and scored three goals.

Philippe Clement of Norwich, Wrexham's Phil Parkinson and Derby head coach John Eustace were also nominated for the manager accolade.

Wrexham striker Sam Smith and defenders Charlie Hughes (Hull City) and Caleb Taylor (Millwall) missed out of the player award.

Middlesbrough visit second-placed Coventry in the Championship on Monday night (20:00 GMT).