What John Eustace has said about David Ozoh situation at Derby County | OneFootball

David Ozoh has not featured for Derby County in either of their last two league games

John Eustace has lifted the lid on David Ozoh's struggle for regular minutes after returning to Derby County, with the popular midfielder yet to force his way into the side.

The midfielder is on loan from Crystal Palace for the second season in a row, but has been out of the side for their last two fixtures.

The partnership of Lewis Travis and Ebou Adams has kept the 20-year-old out of the team following the former’s arrival from Blackburn Rovers late in the transfer window.

Ozoh has not featured for the Rams since their 2-2 draw with Ipswich Town in which he gave away a penalty.

The youngster spent last season on loan at Pride Park, but he managed just 10 appearances in the Championship, with injuries derailing his campaign. Ozoh made a lasting impression on Rams supporters when fit, and they will hope he can enjoy a clean bill of health after returning to Derbyshire for a second loan spell.

John Eustace explains David Ozoh’s game time situation at Derby County

Eustace has claimed that Ozoh’s time in the team will come, and that he is taking things cautiously with the player due to his injury history.

He believes that everyone in the squad will get their chance to prove themselves, highlighting the 46-game season as plenty of time for everyone to get minutes.

"David's played in games,” said Eustace, via Derbyshire Live.

“He started games already. He's a young lad. He's on the back of a lot of injuries last year. And it's about us protecting him and bringing him in at the right time.

"I think Ebou and Lewis have both done very well again and they did very well in the previous couple of games. It's about the squad.

"There are other players that haven't got any minutes so far, and they've been on the bench.

“Over the course of the 46 games, they'll all be used and everyone will be just as important as everyone else."

Derby have made an underwhelming start to the new Championship season, with the team struggling for form.

The Rams have won just one of their opening six fixtures, and sit 22nd in the table, with a total of only five points from a possible 18.

Ozoh has played in four of those six matches, starting on two occasions, but he was an unused substitute in their victory over West Brom and defeat to Preston North End since the international break concluded.

Next up for Eustace’s side is a trip to face Wrexham on 27 September in a 12.30pm kick-off.

Crystal Palace will want more minutes for David Ozoh at Derby County

Palace will be keeping a close eye on Ozoh’s progress, as this is a crucial year for the player after his injury issues in the previous campaign.

The partnership of Travis and Adams means the 20-year-old will really have to impress with his next chance in the side in order to stake a claim in the starting lineup on a consistent basis.

It does make sense to take some caution with the youngster given the injury problems he had last year, but the Eagles will still want to see him in the side in some capacity soon or else they will be quite concerned about stunting his development.

It hasn’t helped Eustace that the team can’t string together good results at the moment, so the pressure is on him to play the best team possible each week until they can put some more points on the board.