Derby County facing potential triple hit that could affect John Eustace's side | OneFootball

The Rams could be in for a challenging time against Swansea City and Middlesbrough

Derby County are facing a potential triple hit that could affect their next two games at least, against Swansea City and Middlesbrough respectively.

Whilst the Rams face the threat of being without star striker Carlton Morris for a more extended period of time following his injury against Watford - both the Swans and Boro announced new managers on Monday.

This directly impacts Derby because John Eustace's side play against these newly-managed teams in back-to-back fixtures this week.

Having thrown away a two-goal lead against Watford in their last game, the 'new manager bounce' might add to the unwanted disruption at Pride Park - despite the East Midlands outfit being two points out of the play-offs.

'New manager bounce' awaits for Derby County against Swansea City and Middlesbrough

Firstly, it's worth providing some context as to why both Swansea and Middlesbrough players might be playing with a point to prove.

Swansea City confirmed the appointment of Vitor Matos on a four-year deal just days after dismissing Alan Sheehan. The 37-year-old Portuguese coach arrives from CS Marítimo, but previously held a position at Liverpool under Jürgen Klopp as an elite development coach.

Middlesbrough, meanwhile, have appointed another 37-year-old as their new head coach, bringing in Kim Hellberg from Swedish club Hammarby. The Swede initially interviewed for the Swans position before Boro owner Steve Gibson swooped.

Stats surrounding the ‘new manager bounce’ suggest that whilst some clubs do experience an improvement in form immediately following a managerial change, the phenomenon is far from guaranteed.

Research into previous Premier League and Championship managerial switches shows that clubs average around 5.92 points from their first five games under a new manager - equivalent to roughly two wins from five outings.

For Eustace, he oversaw three defeats in his first three games as Rams boss before winning his next four.

It will obviously take time for Matos and Hellberg to implement their own ideas, but their players might have extra motivation to do well - and it just so happens Derby play them straight away.

Derby County's Carlton Morris has not suffered an ACL injury

BBC Radio Derby's Dominic Dietrich confirmed on Monday evening that Morris has not suffered an ACL injury, which put online rumours to bed.

Without wanting to be pessimistic, Morris has experienced knee problems before in his career, most notably a torn ACL during Shrewsbury Town's League One play-off final in 2018 when he was on loan from Norwich City. So you can understand where any possible worry stemmed from.

Eustace told BBC Radio Derby after the Watford match, that for Morris "to come off, it's got to be bad." Although it may not prove as severe as first thought, this cautious language by Eustace obviously left all Derby fans worried.

You can probably make the assumption that Morris, who's scored ten goals in 16 Championship appearances, is going to be sidelined for both of these upcoming games - which will unfortunately relieve both Matos and Hellberg of some stress.

Along with the striker situation, Derby's defence may also be disrupted even more for the trip to Wales on Tuesday - because Dion Sanderson is suspended after picking up too many yellow cards.

Yes, the Birmingham City loanee didn't have the best of starts as a Ram, but his recent performances have earned Sanderson a lot of praise from our Rams Fan Pundit Shaun Woodward. Given that he scored against Watford, that's another goal threat not available for Eustace as well.

John Eustace and Derby County have bounced back before

It's not all doom and gloom in the East Midlands though, as Derby's recent form - aside from the Watford collapse - has been very encouraging.

In October, Eustace revealed his delight when his Derby squad bounced back from the Oxford United defeat with a win against Norwich, and will certainly be encouraged that they can do it again.

With the thought of a playoff place up for grabs on Tuesday - and possibly Saturday - Derby players surely have as equal motivation as both Swansea and Middlesbrough's to perform well, if not more.

Ultimately, whilst the 'new manager bounce' is not inevitable, it is certainly a talking point in football, and is worth considering in Derby's case as they could struggle without Morris straight away.

Both Matos and Hellberg will be aware of the expectation accompanying their appointments, and they will each be keen to make immediate impressions on their new clubs.