3/1 To Win
Derby County Head Coach John Eustace said he is looking forward to returning and experiencing the ‘fantastic’ atmosphere at Pride Park Stadium when his side face Millwall on Saturday in the Sky Bet Championship (12:30pm kick-off).
Eustace will take charge of his first game in the home dugout for the visit of the Lions after joining the club a week ago alongside Assistant Head Coach Matt Gardiner and First Team Coach Keith Downing.
After overseeing the Rams’ 4-0 defeat against Queens Park Rangers last Friday, the new Head Coach made it clear he was relishing time on the training pitch with his squad and will be looking to see Derby pick up points and start to progress up the table and away from danger.
The coaching staff also received two new additions this week, with Paul Clements joining as new Goalkeeping Coach and Steve Round checking in on a part-time basis in a support role for the rest of the 2024/25 campaign.
Eustace spoke to RamsTV about his first full week at Moor Farm and looked ahead to representing Derby at Pride Park for the first time in over a decade.
On settling in as Head Coach of Derby County alongside his staff…
The lads have made it special this week. They've made me feel very much at home and so have the staff. We've had a really good week. They [Matt Gardiner and Keith Downing] are good football people, and they can see the attitude of the boys too. It's been fantastic. They've got to grips with everything very, very quickly. They're very experienced as well. It's as if they've been here for years, the way they are. They're very confident coaches and good people.
On new additions to the coaching staff…
Paul Clements is a very experienced goalkeeping coach. He's worked under some really good managers in the Championship and has been promoted. He's coming in here with good experience and he's going to help the boys.
Steve Round is a Derby lad who's been here before and has seen success at the Football Club. He also has a great CV; assistant manager at Manchester United, Arsenal and England. He's a good footballing guy and he's coming in to help until the end of the season.
On new signing Kemar Roofe…
Kemar's got great quality in front of goal. He can help the rest of the boys and show them how to put the ball in the net and give them confidence, too. If we can get him fit and keep him fit, he's a really good addition to the squad. I'm sure he'll be involved in the squad [this weekend]. We'll see how he is and, hopefully, he can make an impact as quickly as possible.
On getting time on the training pitch with the squad…
They've been brilliant. The attitude of the boys has been fantastic. They're a really good, honest group. Even after the setback last Friday, you'd have never been able to tell; the lads have been right at it this week, which has been really pleasing.
[On the training pitch] we've got to simplify things and give the boys some ideas on how we want to play with and without the ball. That's all we've focused on this week. The intensity of training has been very good, and the attitude of the group has been excellent.
On memories of Pride Park Stadium…
It is a fantastic place to work with fantastic supporters; it is a great arena to play and coach in. I can't wait to stand there in the technical area and coach the lads and manage the boys. It'll be a very proud day for me.
On Saturday’s opponents Millwall…
I watched Millwall against Preston on Tuesday. I know it’s going to be a very difficult game. They are a very well-organised, very well-structured team. It wasn't the prettiest of games, but they got the job done. I expect the same on Saturday and I expect us to be competitive and see where that takes us.
On the importance of the Derby fans...
I know the Derby fans are definitely going to have to play that 12th-man role - they are going to be vital. There's going to be some difficult moments, but it's really important that the fans now are right behind this group, which I know they have been, and play their part on Saturday. One of the reasons I came to the Football Club was because of the fanbase. I know they're going to do the lads proud on Saturday and really keep driving them boys through.
