POST-MATCH INTERVIEW: Eustace gives his verdict after Preston loss

Head Coach John Eustace said his Derby County side’s ‘attitude and grit’ was there to see - but admitted they were made to rue a disappointing first half in a 1-0 loss against Preston North End.

Alfie Devine’s strike from distance gave Preston the lead against the run of play after half an hour and they refused to yield their advantage against relentless pressure from the Rams in the second half.

Patrick Agyemang impressed on his home debut for the club, coming close on multiple occasions, but was denied by Daniel Iversen in the North End goal.

Eustace spoke to RamsTV following the loss on home turf to discuss a close-fought match-up.

On the 1-0 loss against Preston…

I thought the first half was poor, and we weren't at the levels required to win a game. In the second half, I thought the attitude and grit the boys showed to try and find the equaliser was there for everyone to see. I was much happier with the second half performance and disappointed that we just couldn't get that equaliser.

On improving in the second half…

In the second half, there was only going to be one team that was going to go on and score. Unfortunately, we couldn't put the ball in the net. There's lots of positives to take out of that second-half performance.

I've always said it was always going to be a difficult start to the season for us. We are six games in, and the group are growing, we're building. On the back of that second half performance, I think there's lots of positives to take out of it.

On Patrick Agyemang and four players making their home debuts…

Patrick was excellent. He's getting fitter, he's getting stronger. You can see that. That's a massive plus and I thought some of the football that second half was good as well. There's a lot to build on.

Pat's going to be a top performer at this level, for sure. It's just about us now getting the right balance of the team and playing the right formation, which is going to get our best players in the team and make sure that we're competitive week in, week out.

It's still early days for this group. They are going to grow throughout the season, and it's going to take time. It's just important that we all keep believing in what we're doing and we stick together. There's always going to be some highs and some lows.

Today's a low, of course. We don't want to lose any games, but I think that second-half performance can certainly show a lot of positives and be exciting for more to come.