'Absolutely not' - John Eustace drops claim on Birmingham City owners ahead of Derby County clash | OneFootball

Birmingham City dismissed John Eustace in October 2023 with the team sitting inside the play-off places

Derby County will host Birmingham City this weekend with both clubs chasing a play-off place in the Championship.

John Eustace will face his former side, with the Rams seeking a first top six finish in the second division since coming out of administration only four years ago.

Meanwhile, Chris Davies’ side are still targeting back-to-back promotions this year, even with a recent dip in form costing them crucial points against sixth place Southampton.

Derby are just three points adrift of the Saints, who moved into the play-offs midweek with a 1-0 win against Norwich City.

Eustace’s team have also won three of their last four games, while Birmingham have won just one of their last five.

The 46-year-old now has the chance to pile on the misery at St. Andrew’s, and further dent their promotion hopes, with his former side set to travel to Pride Park.

John Eustace opens up on relationship with Birmingham owners

Eustace was dismissed by Birmingham’s current owners in October 2023 despite the team sitting sixth in the Championship table.

He was replaced by Wayne Rooney, who lasted just 15 games before being dismissed, but the Derby boss has claimed he has no bad feelings towards Knighthead Capital regardless.

When asked if there was any animosity towards the Blues’ owners, he replied, via Birmingham Live: “Absolutely not.

“I loved my time at the football club.

“It's a brilliant football club to work for and I'm sure they'll have huge success in the future.”

Eustace brought Derby to St. Andrew’s in December of last year, with the two teams sharing the spoils with a 1-1 draw in only his second visit to his old club since his departure.

Patrick Agyemang put the Rams ahead in the 27th minute before Birmingham equalised through Jack Robinson.

Both sides also finished the clash with only 10-men after Joe Ward and Christoph Kramer both received red cards.

Davies is now under pressure to get results, with Knighthead Capital aiming for the club to compete in the Premier League again sooner rather than later.

The Midlands outfit have not been in the top flight since 2011, and they were in League One as recently as just last season.

The Blues suffered relegation from the Championship just seven months on from Eustace’s sacking.

Birmingham will travel to face Derby on Saturday in a 12.30pm kick-off, as they look to close the seven point gap to the play-off places.

John Eustace and Birmingham have both recovered from his short-sighted sacking

Eustace was doing well at Birmingham, which is why it was such a surprise when he was dismissed two-and-a-half years ago.

But both the manager and the club have recovered from that debacle in the years since, with the 46-year-old doing quite well again with Derby.

Meanwhile, Birmingham may not be able to sustain a play-off push for the whole campaign, but it is still encouraging for supporters that the team is better off now than where it was under the previous ownership.

Knighthead Capital were only a few months into their time as owners when they dismissed Eustace, and it’s clear that they’ve learned from that mistake by now, as they put their sights on bringing top flight football back to Birmingham.