Thu 21 Aug - Posted in Breaking News
Time to read: 3mins
Head Coach John Eustace has praised the Derby County supporters' togetherness and passion following this week’s Open Training Session ahead of Friday night's clash against Bristol City (8pm kick-off).
Derby will host the Robins under the floodlights at Pride Park Stadium and look to notch their first league win of the season in their third match of the 2025/26 Sky Bet Championship campaign after a 5-3 reverseagainst Coventry City on home turf last Saturday.
The Rams staged an Open Training Session on Monday, with fans taking their seats in the East Stand to watch the squad getting down to work and starting their preparations for the meeting with the Robins.
Eustace spoke to RamsTV ahead of Friday’s match under the lights.
We've got to defend better. To score three goals at home was really pleasing., but to concede five is not so pleasing. I thought the atmosphere of the day was fantastic, and the home support was awesome. To come away with nothing out of the game was really disappointing.
It was great to see the fans again. It was great to see their support behind the boys.
It was good to get back onto the training field, too. We started the work straight away, the hard work for the week. We did a little bit of preparation for that on Monday, and also gave the fans a little bit of what they wanted to see as well. It was a really positive day.
It's important that this Derby County family is one, no matter how old or how young you are. If you're playing or if you're part of the staff, we're one club and we've got that one club mentality. It's important that the city is proud to watch us play and to support the club. That's the responsibility of the players and me to make sure that we give as much as we can to make sure the fans are happy.
They're a very good team and another of the sides that finished in the play-offs last season, following on from Coventry. Our first game was against Stoke, they've invested well too. We've been competitive in both games so far and the Bristol City game won't be any different. They're a good team, and they are coached very well.
They've got a real set style of play now, and they've got a group of players that have been there a long time. That helps, and we know it's going to be a difficult challenge, but one we really can't wait for now. We want to put a wrong right from Saturday and we're looking forward to the challenge.
Pride Park Stadium
Middlesbrough
Hull City
Wrexham
Derby County
Norwich City
Birmingham City
Swansea City
Bristol City
