John Eustace told to fix key Derby County problem after Preston loss – “it just doesn’t work” | OneFootball

FLW’s Derby County fan pundit has offered his thoughts on Derby’s defeat to Preston last weekend.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Derby County’s poor start to the 2025-26 Championship campaign continued after they slumped to a 1-0 defeat to Preston North End at Pride Park.

After claiming an impressive three points at The Hawthorns over West Brom the previous week, there was optimism building that this could be the start where the Rams produce some consistent form and rise up the second-tier table, but it wasn’t to be.

John Eustace’s men were handed their third defeat of the season thanks to Alfie Devine’s 29th minute strike, ensuring Derby have failed to taste victory so far at home this term, with one draw and two losses.

The East Midlands outfit have dropped into the bottom three after their opening six league outings, with a turnaround sharply needed if they want to get themselves towards the promotion conversation.

It’s been particularly surprising to see Derby struggle at home as much as they are currently doing, with Pride Park needing to become a fortress for any success to form for the Rams.

With this in mind, FLW’s Derby County fan pundit has issued his thoughts on why Derby have started the season so poorly, and what needs to change in order to transform their fortunes.

John Eustace home tactical tweak advised while Ben Brereton-Diaz support outlined

Speaking to Football League World, Derby County fan pundit Shaun Woodward admitted that John Eustace’s 3-4-3 system “doesn’t work” in home matches, and he should be considering a change to it in order to help make Pride Park a fortress for the remainder of the season.

When asked whether Eustace can turn the tide, Shaun said: “I fully expect Eustace to turn this around.

"It was always going to be a turbulent start to the season, particularly when we had so many players that weren’t fit and were going to have to be given a few minutes here and there in order to build their fitness up, and I don’t think we’ll know our strongest side for the next four, five or even six weeks, so we’ve got to be patient.

“Having said that, Saturday was a very disappointing result. We set up far too passively, too defensively. For a home match in front of almost 30,000 people, you’ve got to be on the front foot, you’ve got to make Pride Park a fortress, a place that teams really struggle to come and get a result at, but we made it far too easy for Preston.

"That first half was one of the worst halves of football I’ve seen in a long time, considering we actually do have quite a good number of players back in the team now and on the bench, we had a very good bench, especially attacking players, but we set up all wrong.

“The 3-4-3, it might work away from home when we have to soak up pressure and then try to hit on the counter-attack, but at home, it just doesn’t work. it gives the away team the initiative and with Preston not winning away for however many months, they were there for the taking, but we just didn’t lay a glove on them.

"In the Second half, we changed formation, brought on Agyemang and gave it a go, but you can’t be giving teams a 1-0 lead at this level and expect to get something out of the game.

“I hope Eustace learnt from that, because if we set up 3-4-3 again at home, then I wouldn’t know what to say, but hopefully he’s seen that formation doesn’t work at home. Far too many players were just too passive, not brave enough on the ball or out of possession and didn’t really try and play any balls through to the frontmen.”

Meanwhile, attacker Ben Brereton-Diaz has faced criticism for his early performances since linking up on loan from Southampton, but Shaun believes the whole frontline has to take responsibility.

Shaun added: “I thought we looked slow up top. Diaz has come in for some criticism, but it’s not just him.

"I think the front three as a whole, although they didn’t get much service in the first half, looked slow. (Bobby) Clark and Diaz don’t look like they’ve got the pace to beat a man on the outside, so unless you’ve got wing-backs that are going to get down the line and get balls into the box, then I struggle to see how they fit into that formation.

“We desperately miss Corey Blackett-Taylor and Brewster. I think our best moments have come when they’ve been in the team, so I can’t wait for them to come back.

“It’s a disappointing start, but I think we’ll come good. I think Diaz will come good, he looks a bit slow and not up to speed with the intensity of the Championship yet, but hopefully we can find a place for him in the right formation, the right players around him and I think he’ll be a good player for us.”

John Eustace must change up tactics at Pride Park

Pride Park general

Since playing a 4-4-2 formation on the opening weekend at Stoke City, John Eustace has changed to a three-back system, collecting positive results on the road at Ipswich Town and West Brom.

But it hasn’t gone so swimmingly at home, with Derby picking up just one point from a possible nine available at Pride Park using that setup, and surely that will send alarm bells ringing that a change must be made.

Eustace should be aiming to go back to the 4-4-2 and see if that can work better at home, utilising two frontmen to press the opposition backline and be nuisances while the Rams dominate possession.

A clear and different way of playing for home and away matches could bring about a consistent run of form, which is what the fans are crying out for, and this small tweak could be vital to any promotion push forming this term.