David Clowes issued big Derby County, John Eustace sack warning as 'difficult' claim emerges | OneFootball

FLW's Derby County fan pundit has given his verdict on whether the Rams should sack head coach John Eustace after their poor start to the season.

It has been a nightmare start to the season for Derby County in the Championship.

After missing out on the play-off places on the final day of last season, Derby would have been hoping to mount another promotion push this time around, but it has certainly not worked out that way so far.

Pressure building on John Eustace at Derby County as poor start continues

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It was a busy summer for Derby as 11 new signings arrived at Pride Park, including the likes of Eiran Cashin, Alex Mowatt, Ryan Hedges, Filip Bilbija, Henrik Meister and Mohammed Fuseini, while David Ozoh, Bobby Clark and Sammie Szmodics all returned after successful loan spells last season.

The Rams were expected to be among the play-off contenders in the Championship once again this season, but they currently find themselves in the relegation zone after a disastrous start to the campaign.

Derby suffered their third consecutive defeat as they were beaten 2-1 by Birmingham City on Saturday, with goals from Carlos Vicente and Paik Seung-ho turning the game around for the Blues after Clark had given the hosts a 40th-minute lead.

Having picked up just four points from their opening seven league games, many Rams supporters called for Eustace to be sacked after the latest loss, and they make the trip to face bottom side Burnley at Turf Moor on Saturday in a game that could be crucial for both managers, with Clarets boss Nicky Hayen also under scrutiny after a winless start to the season.

Derby County told to stick with John Eustace amid increasing fan frustration

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When asked for his thoughts on Eustace's future, FLW's Derby County fan pundit Shaun Woodward insisted that the 50-year-old deserves to be given more time, but he admitted that his job could be under threat if the Rams were to lose at Burnley this weekend.

"There have been more than some Derby fans calling for Eustace to be sacked," Shaun told FLW.

"I think, right now, from what I've been reading and posts I've been commenting on, I would say it's almost a 50/50 split.

"I can see it from both sides, if I'm totally honest.

"For me, he still deserves time.

"What he's done at Derby, keeping us up and then taking us to an eighth-placed finish when we were in the play-offs with half an hour to go on the final game last season, I think he deserves to be given that time to turn it around.

"We're seven games into the season, there are still 39 league games to go.

"We don't want to go down that road of sacking managers like we used to when it was quite reactive to some bad results.

"Don't get me wrong, I know football and how it works, and it wouldn't surprise me if Eustace was sacked.

"I'm not saying that we should stick with him for the foreseeable future if things don't change, but I do believe he needs a bit more time to try and get the team a little bit more settled and get his points across.

"We've got a lot of new players that we're trying to bed in, players coming back from injury, and I just think he needs that time over the international break to get them on the training ground and work on what's been going wrong.

"It's clear right now that things aren't right, and Eustace has to take ownership of that, he's the leader and it's down to him to try and sort that out, but, for me, he deserves a bit more time.

"I wouldn't put a date on it because, if we lose to Burnley and are bottom of the league for that international break, it's going to be really difficult for him to keep his job, but I hope David Clowes stays calm and sees this out with Eustace.

"Hopefully he can turn things around.

"All that said, I would not be surprised to see him go if we lose to Burnley at the weekend and find ourselves bottom come the three-week international break."

Burnley clash could be make-or-break for John Eustace's Derby County future

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Eustace has done an excellent job during his time at Derby, transforming them from relegation candidates to play-off contenders, but alarm bells will be ringing at Pride Park amid his side's slow start to the season.

The Rams have lacked an attacking threat in the early stages of the season, scoring just six goals in their first seven games, while they have also conceded 13, which is particularly unusual given that Eustace's teams are typically built on a solid defensive foundation.

There is no doubt that Eustace is a more than capable manager at Championship level, but, in truth, there is little sign of Derby's fortunes improving, and with the three-week international break looming, it could be the perfect time for owner David Clowes to make a managerial change.

With that in mind, Saturday's game against fellow strugglers Burnley could determine Eustace's future, and there will be pressure on both managers at Turf Moor, with Hayen also fighting to save his job having failed to win any of his nine games in charge of the Clarets so far.