Eustace focuses on Derby ambition over Rovers reunion

John Eustace spent a year in charge of Blackburn before making the move to Derby

John Eustace abandoned promotion-chasing Blackburn Rovers to take the helm of relegation-battling Derby County, but it is the far-flung Premier League aspirations of his beleaguered side that he has spoken about ahead of Saturday's eagerly-anticipated reunion.

The Rams have lost all three matches since the 45-year-old arrived as head coach to slump to the bottom of the Championship table.

If beaten again on Saturday by a Rovers side that could move back into the play-off spots with victory, Eustace will be the first Derby manager ever to preside over four defeats in his first four games in charge.

Despite being rock-bottom, at risk of plunging back to League One, as well as pointless and goalless since Eustace's arrival, the Rams boss reiterated that Derby's long-term ambitions for the Premier League is why he made the switch in February.

"When you get 27,000 fans at home, 5,000 away, working in a fantastic environment it's set for the Premier League and I want to play my part to make sure Derby get back, however long that takes," Eustace told BBC Radio Derby.

"It's going to be a process, but it's going to be a really exciting process to be able to do that and I'm very proud to be the head coach here now and to get us back to where we should be."

On his arrival at Derby three weeks ago, Eustace admitted he was taking a "huge risk" by parachuting down the division to take charge of a club where he retired as a player a decade earlier.

When asked about what it feels like facing Blackburn so soon after his departure, Eustace replied by saying his "focus" will be on Derby while acknowledging that he had a "fantastic time" at Ewood Park in his year in charge there.

But in the context of the Rams' fight for survival, he sees Saturday's game at Pride Park (15:00 GMT) as simply being his side's next "big challenge".

"The most important this is that we take each game as it comes," he said. "You don't get carried away with the highs or the lows, you don't start looking at where you are in the league, you just concentrate on the next game."

Where they are in the league is seven points from safety with 11 matches remaining, having lost 10 in a 12-match winless league run dating back to December.

Asked if the job he has taken on has turned out to be harder than anticipated, Eustace said: "It's part of the job, part of being a football manager. It's not easy.

"I was under no illusions coming here that it was going to be a difficult task and a difficult job, but again its about the bigger picture for me," he continued, while talking to BBC East Midlands Today.

"It's not about the next two months, it's about the next three or four years and that's why I have come to this fantastic football club and I want to build it and get it back to where it should be."