John Eustace 'under pressure' at Derby County as 'bizarre' Rams issue is raised | OneFootball

FLW's Derby County fan pundit has given his verdict on John Eustace's position at the club

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 season continued with a 1-0 loss to Oxford United last weekend.

The Rams have won just one of their first 10 games of the campaign, leaving them just outside the relegation zone ahead of two huge home games in the coming days.

Eustace was appointed as manager in February, and he made an immediate impact as coach by overseeing the club’s survival against relegation last season.

Despite a summer that included big name signings like Patrick Agyemang, Lewis Travis and Rhian Brewster, among others, Derby have struggled for goals this season.

The 1-0 loss to the U’s saw the side make just one shot on target from 49 per cent possession at the Kassam Stadium.

John Eustace is not under major pressure yet

When asked if Eustace’s position is under threat, FLW’s Derby fan pundit Shaun Woodward claimed the pressure is mounting, but that he still has credit in the bank.

He highlighted problems with the performances such as a lack of creativity, pace and width as big concerns, particularly given the attacking options like Carlton Morris, Agyemang and Lars-Jorgen Salvesen.

“I wouldn’t say Eustace is under major pressure, but he is definitely under pressure, as any manager should be after one win in 10 league games,” Woodward told Football League World.

“More worrying for me is the performances, they are dire, they’re so, so poor to watch at the moment, we barely create a chance.

“We’re easy to play against, there’s no creativity in the side, we look unbalanced, there’s no balance, there’s no width to our play, there’s no ball players in the middle, so we’re so easy to play against.

“We’re giving up a lot of chances as well — thankfully, we’ve got [Jacob] Zetterstrom, who is in great form at the moment, he’s keeping the scores down.

“But, like I said, we’re unbalanced, we seem to have signed a lot of similar types of players, we’ve got lots of big centre-forwards, Morris, Agyemang, Salvesen, but they’re all wanting to do the same thing, really.

“They want the ball into the box, but we’ve got no width, we’ve got no pace, so that’s not going to happen, and then we’ve got no ball players in the middle to play it through to them, so again that’s not going to happen.

“So I just don’t see how things can change until we can sign some new players in January.

“But it seems like another wasted summer where we brought in a lot of players but we don’t seem to have improved, albeit on paper we look like we’ve got a lot of good attacking players now.

“But actually, we’re creating less than we did last season when we barely had any.

“So it’s a real bizarre one for me.”

John Eustace backed to turn it around at Derby

Woodward has backed Eustace to be the man to turn things around at Derby, but that the next two games are crucial, as owner David Clowes won’t want the side in the bottom three by the start of 2026.

“I still believe Eustace is the right man, I think he’s got a lot of credit in the bank still from what he did last season, but that credit is running out,”

“I don’t think Clowes is going to want us in the bottom three come the new year because it’s very tough to get out of it.

“So, I do believe he’s got a bit of time.

“We’ve got two home games now, massive six-pointer [Tuesday] against Norwich, if we don’t win that I can see things getting pretty toxic at Pride Park.

“It has been getting a bit like that recently, it’s not worth thinking about.

“If we can’t beat Norwich, who are on equally poor form as us, then it’s worrying because we made Oxford look like Barcelona, which is extremely concerning.

“But if we can’t pick up a minimum four points over these next two home games, then I could see the fanbase really turning and then it becomes really difficult for Eustace.

“I do still believe he’s the right man, I just think we need to be patient and trust what he’s trying to do, although it’s hard to see at times, and keep going and keep moving forward and hopefully things will turn for us.”

Derby’s only victory so far this season came against West Brom on 13 September, and failure to win this week will see them go through all of October without a win.

The Rams are currently 21st in the Championship table, one point clear of Blackburn Rovers in the relegation zone but having played a game more.

Next up for Eustace’s side is a home clash against Norwich before they face QPR on 25 October.

John Eustace needs results to keep Derby position

Even if performances don’t improve, a couple of victories in the next few weeks would go a long way to giving Eustace some more credit in the bank.

Given the circumstances of his arrival, it would not reflect well on Derby if he can’t even last a full year in the position.

With the number of signings made in the summer, a closer look needs to be given to the decisions made behind the construction of this squad, as it’s not working.