Eustace tempers expectations ahead of big kick-off
John Eustace pre-Stoke City (A)
- Published
Derby County boss John Eustace said his side are "nowhere near the finished article", ahead of their opening day clash against Stoke City.
After ensuring their Championship survival on the final day of last season, the Rams have been busy this summer, and Eustace stressed to BBC Radio Derby there is still plenty of work to do.
"You can see the amount of players that we have signed and the amount of players that have gone out as well," he said.
"We have to assess who is fit and there won't be many of the new players who will be fit for the first two or three games, but we will know more after the first international break. That is why I am stressing that it is a 46-game season.
"We are nowhere near the finished article, but we are working to find that progress."
The Rams have made 11 new additions to the squad, however Eustace, 45, said he doesn't want fans to get "carried away" with expectations.
"We are rebuilding a new team here and that is not done overnight, he said.
"We are up against some unbelievable squads, and it is just important that people don't get carried away with the new signings turning up on Saturday and playing, or that we are going to be playing like Barcelona because the likelihood of that is very slim, but what we are building here is something special."
Speaking on the changes that he wants to implement for the forthcoming campaign, he added: "We want to try to change our style of play and not be as direct as we were last season, but that is going to take time, that is a slow process."
