INTERVIEW: ‘I've Loved Every Minute’ - Eustace Reflects On First Year In Charge

On the eve of his one-year anniversary in the hot-seat at Derby County, Head Coach John Eustace says he’s ‘loved every minute’ of his time in charge.

The 46-year-old arrived at Pride Park Stadium alongside Assistant Head Coach; Matt Gardiner and First Team Coach; Keith Downing on 13th February 2024, and has masterminded a remarkable turnaround in fortunes across the past 12 months.

After overcoming a relegation scrap to secure the Rams’ Sky Bet Championship status last term, Eustace has helped guide Derby to the brink of the play-offs this time around, attracting some high calibre talent en route.

RamsTV to reflect on the progress he’s overseen, while also looking ahead to the visit of Swansea City this weekend (3pm kick-off).

On Loving His First Year As Derby’s Head Coach

It's been a rollercoaster, an amazing experience - I’ve loved every minute of it - every challenge. It's amazing to be working for this football club.

We're here to build and make this a real special place to play and get us back at the right end of the league and pushing.

I think we've made good progress. There's still a hell of a lot of hard work ahead and a lot more progress to make. I think we've been okay up to now but there's a lot of hard work ahead.

We're nowhere near the finished article and we're nowhere near where I want us to be. But, over the year, we've certainly made good strides going forward.

On The Support He Has Received

The reason I came to the football club is because I would be supported. The backing we've got behind the scenes is amazing and the fans are obviously top, top drawer as well. I think the majority can see all the hard work we've been putting in and where we want to eventually get the club.

We've had buy-in from everyone. For me, we work very hard as coaching staff and as a group of players. If you do the right things then you get that progression - and it comes a little bit quicker than people might expect.

On The Highlights Of His Year In Charge

Every victory last season was a major highlight! But if I look back now, that Blackburn game at home was the kickstart of everything. I thought the buy-in from everyone and the atmosphere that day was awesome. The fans really got behind me as well, which was really nice.

I think that's what we're all about. I think the Derby County family now has grown and you can see that – home and away - we're together.

Of course, we're not always going to get the right results and there's always going to be a few moans and groans, but that's what football's all about. I think as long as you can see where we want to take the football club, that's all I ask for.

On Bobby Clark’s Development

I think he’s improved as the season has progressed. Along with two or three other players, when we signed Bobby, he wasn't match fit. He had no pre-season. It was always going to take him time to grow and to develop.

The last couple of games have caught up with him a little bit, which is very understandable given the amount of excellent work that he's produced on the pitch.

There's so much more growth to come from him and I'm sure he'll finish the end of the season on a high and will certainly be a match-winner for us.

On Carlton Morris’s Potential Return

Carlton's doing great. It's amazing to have him back in the group. He's been a big miss to us and just to have him on the pitch again is fantastic. He's encouraging, he's demanding, his standards are very high, and we're delighted that he's back in the group.

However, it’s important that we are careful with him. We can't afford to lose him again. He's had three days now with the first team after being out for such a long time.

We've certainly got to protect him and we've got to make sure that he comes back into the first team squad at the right time so he can make an impact.

On The Threat Posed By Swansea

They're an excellent team. They're back to the old Swansea way now of dominating possession, playing some fantastic football.

They've got a really good coach there and they've got a group of players that know the system inside out. They've been there a long time, but they've also invested in the team as well. They’re solid - a very good Championship team and it's going to be a difficult afternoon for us.

Saying that, our lads have worked very well this week. The signings we've made in the transfer window have certainly given everyone a boost, which is ideal. The squad are in a really good place.