Eustace admits 'risk' of Derby move from Blackburn

John Eustace admits he has taken a huge risk swapping a Premier League promotion push with Blackburn Rovers for a relegation fight as Derby boss - but is adamant he is in the right place to build "long-term success".

The 45-year-old parachuted down 16 places when he left Blackburn on Thursday morning to join a Rams side he said had "14 cup finals" ahead of them to try to avoid an immediate return to League One.

His appointment as Rams head coach on a three-and-a-half-year deal came fewer than 12 hours after Blackburn beat fellow play-off hopefuls West Bromwich Albion to move up to fifth in the table.

"I was buzzing they won last night; it was a fantastic result, and I really hope Blackburn get promoted through the play-offs," Eustace said.

"I left the club in a better position than when I came; they were fighting relegation, and I've left and they are in the top six."

When asked if he could see why people would view his move as a "huge risk", Eustace replied: "Yeah, [and] they are probably right. But the reason I have done it is that this is something I want to be part of."

Eustace's first match in charge of Derby will be Friday night at Queens Park Rangers, a club where he worked as an assistant coach for four years and had a spell as interim boss.

Throughout his first press conference as Derby boss at Moor Farm, Eustace spoke about how Rams owner David Clowes had been instrumental in convincing him to make the move back to a club where he ended his playing career a decade ago.

Clowes - a property developer who lives and works in Derbyshire and brought the Rams out of administration in 2022 - was among the club chiefs involved in the negotiations to bring Eustace in.

When asked by BBC Sport if he had already had more conversations with Clowes in the past week than he did with Blackburn's owners Venky's - the Indian poultry firm run by the Rao family - in a year, Eustace replied: "Yeah, I have.

"But I don't want to make a big thing out of it," he continued.

"I have met David, and what an absolute gentleman he is. He is a huge fan of Derby County, and when I spoke to him, he sold me the project.

"It's not all about the owners, of course. It's a previous club [for me], I've had two really good spells there, and I enjoyed it, and this now gives me the stability to grow with people that obviously care about the club and care about the fans."

And while Eustace acknowledges Derby's fight to avoid relegation will "go down to the wire" - with the Rams just above the drop zone on goals scored - he is convinced he is at a club capable of getting back to the Premier League in the future.

They last featured in the top flight 17 years ago, and during his second spell at Derby as a player, he helped to get them to within one win of a Premier League return - losing to Queens Park Rangers in the play-off final in 2014.

"When I spoke to David, just the long-term vision of the football club was very exciting," Eustace said.

"I know Derby very well. I had a couple of years as a player here and the support is excellent. The opportunity to build over a number of years and to grow the squad of players was a really exciting challenge for me."

Part of those conversations with Derby included listening to details about the club searching for fresh investment.

In September, it was revealed that Clowes had held talks with unnamed potential investors about selling a majority stake in the club.

"There might be a prospect of investors, but I know the club is working very hard to bring more investment in," Eustace told BBC Radio Derby.

"If not, the club is still in a very good position."

It was investment at Birmingham City - with new American owners that wanted a big-name boss in Wayne Rooney at the helm - that led to his surprise departure there in October 2023 when he also steered them into the play-off places.

Eustace confirmed that the likelihood of a similar situation happening at Derby was something he had spoken to the club about.

"The guys have assured me that I'd be in a good position and it wouldn't happen to me here," he added.