Eustace wants relegation-threatened Derby to show fight

Boss John Eustace wants his relegation-threatened Derby County side to show they are "up for the fight" when they host Millwall on Saturday.

The Rams suffered their heaviest defeat of the season in Eustace's first match in charge last Friday, as Queens Park Rangers cruised to a 4-0 win.

Having started the week in charge of promotion-chasing Blackburn Rovers, the loss that sent Derby back into the relegation spots came as a punishing induction.

Eustace says there was "a lot to take into consideration" around the defeat, with Derby's third game in six days coming just a day after his arrival.

He has spent the time since then getting to know his players during an uninterrupted week of training.

"It was a very emotional week for everybody [last week]," he told BBC Radio Derby.

"This game now, the boys have prepared properly - their level of intensity and the way they have trained has been excellent.

"The most important thing for me is that we get three points, that we are really competitive in the game and show everyone that we are up for the fight."

Following his arrival at Derby, Eustace said the 14 Championship matches that the East Midlands club had remaining would all be treated as "cup finals".

And he insists that that the heavy loss at QPR has not changed his outlook on what will be demanded of his side.

"It's a huge challenge, I was under no illusion coming in how tough the job was going to be," Eustace said.

"We just have to look forward now and be really positive about everything.

"What happened on Friday night was disappointing, no-one wanted to lose the game but we have 13 big games coming up - and Saturday is a huge game."

Eustace said he has spent the week "getting back to basics" with a squad that has managed to score just four goals in 10 league games dating back to late December.

Following his appointment, former England and Derby boss Steve McClaren - a manager Eustace played for at the Rams and later worked with at QPR as a coach - praised the 45-year-old for the style of play he has cultivated at previous clubs.

It was likened to the exciting approach McClaren fostered in his first spell at Derby, which took them to within one win of promotion to the Premier League.

When asked if he wants to have Derby playing the same way, Eustace replied: "We want to bring exciting, attacking football back to this football club, but it's going to take time.

"The most important thing now is that we try pick up points, if it's ugly of if it's exciting, it doesn't matter because we need to pick up as many points as we can."