Eustace on hair styles, the Bentley that never was & winning ways

John Eustace was appointed Derby head coach in February

John Eustace was barely out of his "long-hair phase" when he first realised that he was a coach in player's clothing.

It was the role Eustace had in the middle of the park for Watford, and across two stints at Derby County that set him up for a career in management. One that took him back to the Rams as boss within a decade of retirement as a player.

As Eustace prepares his in-form Derby side for the visit of Watford, the club he twice left to join the Rams as a player, the 46-year-old has reflected on being the coach he saw himself becoming while still playing as a midfielder.

Did he feel he would one day be Derby County boss, coming in to save them from relegation from the Championship before going on to string five wins together to get them to within touching distance of the play-offs in the early weeks of his first full season in charge?

"No" is the short answer.

The longer version includes dismissing the rumour that he first arrived at Derby County driving a soft-top Bentley, while admitting he superstitiously grew his hair long for a while.

"Does it look like I'd drive one of those [a Bentley convertible]?" Eustace joked when asked about the obscure story from a former team-mate about the first impression he made at Derby.

"But I did go through a long hair stage - that was superstition when I was injured at Stoke. I had it cut before playing a first-team game, but for the friendlies I rocked a headband and everything.

"I grew it for about two years - it was horrible and wasn't styled or anything. It wasn't about image for me."

How things may look, and the reasons for it, is the crucial part of that story.

It is also a bit of a theme for Eustace, who spoke candidly and passionately about how not everything in his playing and coaching career has been exactly as it seemed.

"When coming back to Derby that second time, I'd been one of the senior players at Watford and helped with the development of their younger players, those that came in on loan like Jordan Mutch, Henri Lansbury, Tom Cleverley. And I enjoyed helping their development," Eustace told BBC Sport.

"Then coming here and working with Bryce [Craig Bryson], Will Hughes and [Jeff] Hendrick at Derby, made me realise I was coaching while I was on the pitch and still playing.

"I could see me managing or coaching at some point, but back then I couldn't have expected to be sitting here."

It was Nigel Clough, followed by Steve McClaren, who occupied the hot seat at Derby when Eustace was a Rams player.

Both bosses, as well as Sean Dyche at Watford, former Stoke boss Tony Pulis and Gordon Strachan at Coventry - each of whom Eustace calls a "people person" - has influenced how Eustace approaches the job.

In McClaren's case, Eustace got some of his earliest coaching experiences working as assistant to the former England manager at Queens Park Rangers.

"I always had a good relationship with them, and they would ask me to do extra work with the player to help their development," Eustace said.

"All of those managers allowed me to think 'I'll do that'."

It is also a job that Eustace readily admits "is hard" and comes with "a lot of pressure", be it in a fight to beat the drop or the scrutiny that comes with a slow start to the season.

Before their recent five-game winning run, Derby had managed just one win from their opening 10 league matches.

A 1-0 defeat by Oxford in mid-October had them just one point and one place above the relegation spots.

Five wins and just three weeks later, the Rams went into the international break 10th in the table and two points outside the play-off places.

"It's normal when you lose games, or are not winning, that negativity comes around, but the most pleasing thing for me is that the group just kept on believing in what they are doing. And that's all I want," Eustace said.

"I want to create a culture and an environment at the football club where it's not just the players who believe they are doing the right thing, but the media, local radio station, the fans, believe in wanting to bring success to the football club.

"In the Championship you can have doom and gloom. But if you look at reasons why and be rational about it, it shouldn't all be doom and gloom. But they want results like that.

"It is about believing in the process, not just belief. The boys all believe they are good players and that we are going to be really competitive this year.

"They have been working their socks off for the past four months and there is a hell of a lot of hard work to go."