INTERVIEW: Eustace Speaks Ahead of QPR Battle

John Eustace says his Derby County squad will continue to ‘give their everything’ when they travel to MATRADE Loftus Road on Saturday.

The Rams lost out to Norwich City on Tuesday night, but the Derby boss hailed his side’s ‘top draw attitude’ at Carrow Road ahead of their penultimate Sky Bet Championship fixture of the 2025/26 season against Queens Park Rangers.

The Head Coach spoke to RamsTV to preview his side’s away clash in West London.

His Reflections on the Narrow Defeat Against Norwich City

I thought it was a great effort from the boys. You know, it's a really difficult place to go.

We created a lot of chances, especially in the second half. The most disappointing thing for me is that we conceded two goals.

I felt we were really going to go on and win the game. At that point, I thought we had some real good moments just after we scored. So, to concede the way we did was a bit of a punch to the belly, I suppose, and took the wind out of our sails. But again, full credit to the boys. They went again and created still another couple of chances after that.

On the Squad Going into the Weekend

I think everyone has come through it okay. Again, the effort of the group was amazing, really, considering where they are from a fitness point of view as well.

There are a lot of players out there putting their bodies on the line, still going through it for us. I think that was our highest total distance covered for the season at Norwich - and lots of high sprint distances as well. Those kinds of statistics, I suppose, everyone likes to hear. But, for us, the effort was there. The attitude of the group, again, was top draw.

On the Season Away from Pride Park

I think over the course of the season, it's been good (on the road). If you look at the last five, six, seven away games – apart from Portsmouth - we've played all the top seven teams. And to go toe-to-toe with them - there’s lots to take from those games and to learn going forward.

Most importantly, the concentration levels have to be there for the 95 minutes, especially against the top teams. And that can be the difference. But we've had some great wins.

Sheffield United was a great win away. West Brom, our first win of the season, was great as well. There have been some really good moments.

On the Journey Since He Became Rams Boss 14 Months Ago

It's been an amazing 14 months. There has been so much hard work put into it, not just from the staff, the players, everyone, and the fans. Behind the scenes, I know Stephen Pearce and the team are working as hard as they can to keep building the football club and progressing. And we're all very grateful for that.

There’s still a lot of hard work ahead, for sure. But, you know, the progression we've made inside those 14 months has been excellent.

On Whether the Players Have Exceeded Expectations

They haven’t - because I work with them every day. They are an exceptional group of players to work with. It's important that we try to keep as many of them as we can if we want to build something moving forward. And I know there's a lot more growth to come from the team, which is really exciting.

The group have been excellent. I demand, and I expect more from them in training every day. And they give me everything. And they're an absolute pleasure to work with.

On The Challenge of the Final Two Matches This Season

We want to go to QPR and win. Obviously, we need to win if we want to get into the top six. It's a great opportunity. We're playing against an excellent team. We've been on a good run of late, but lost the last couple.

They're a really difficult opponent to play against. They're coached very well. They've got a really good squad there. I worked at QPR for four-and-a-half years, and I know when the place gets going, it's really difficult.

But it's a fantastic challenge for us to go there and try and win the game, which is certainly what we'll be looking to do.