INTERVIEW: Eustace Looks Ahead to Norwich Trip

John Eustace says his side have shown their quality ‘through difficult times’ this season as Derby County look to follow up their home win over Oxford United with a result against Norwich City on Tuesday night.

The Rams boss spoke of his side’s resilience and fight as they picked up a sixth successive home league victory when they beat the U’s on Saturday.

The Head Coach caught up with RamsTV ahead of the trip to Norwich City.

On Whether Momentum is with the Squad After the Win Over Matt Bloomfield’s Oxford Side

When you win games, it breeds confidence. I think the progression that we've made this season has been magnificent. You can really see the team growing and getting better and better.

Although we're losing bodies as each game goes, I think we're keeping that level of quality in the games. I'm very pleased with the boys.

On the Defensive Shape Following a Third Successive Shut-Out At Pride Park

I think it starts in the front; you saw Sammy Szmodics' last-ditch tackle to make sure we kept a clean sheet. It came at a vital time - and it's certainly a collective effort.

It's something that we work very hard on, out on the training ground. It's something I haven't been pleased with throughout the season. I feel that we could have been a lot better defensively, and it's something that we've got to keep working on to improve next year.

Keeping clean sheets is key, and we were delighted we could keep another one on Saturday.

On Whether the Challenge of Reaching the Play-Offs Changes the Mindset of the Squad

Of course it doesn’t; we want to win every game we play. We prepare properly for every game. We're always very competitive, and we give our best. It doesn't always work.

Of course it doesn't, but over the course of the season, I think there might have been a handful of games when we've let ourselves down. But overall, we've been good through difficult times and the good times.

We've kept that level of professionalism and stayed very level-headed, and that's not going to change now until the end of the season.

On the Turnaround in Norwich City’s Season

I think they've got a fantastic squad. They've invested very heavily in the summer. Their squad's one of the best in the league, for sure. It started slowly, and the change in management has certainly given them an extra boost. Philippe Clement is doing a fantastic job there. They're a very good team.

On the Victory Over Norwich Back in October, Which Kicked-Off a Five-Game Winning Run

It was a huge night. It was a real turning point for us. I think it was on the back of the Oxford game.

That was obviously a disappointing afternoon for us, and to go on a five-game winning run after that was very pleasing.

But sometimes you have to find a way. In that first half against Norwich, we weren't great. We changed a few things, and in the second half, we changed our shape - that really kick-started our season.