Snakes 'no insult' for Eustace after first Rams win

John Eustace oversaw three defeats in his first three games as Derby County boss before the Rams' victory over Blackburn Rovers

From toy snakes being waved in his direction, to seeing Derby County finally score goals to snap a 12-match winless run, John Eustace's reunion with Blackburn Rovers was packed with bite from the outset.

More than 3,100 Rovers fans travelled down to Pride Park for the eagerly anticipated first meeting with a boss that abandoned their push for promotion from the Championship to take charge of a relegation battle just three weeks earlier.

Immediately, the toy snakes that a small number of supporters had with them were on display and being waved above heads as they sent a pointed message to Eustace for what they think of him after his departure.

It was while Derby supporters sang chants about the serpent-themed exhibit that Eustace oversaw a response that the side from Lancashire really felt, with Craig Forsyth scoring the opening goal after three minutes.

It was followed by Ebou Adams' decisive second for the Rams that proved to be the winner.

When Eustace spoke after the match - which was his first win as Derby boss - he argued the day "was not about me", and insisted he did not take the fan display personally.

"I certainly wasn't insulted," he told BBC Sport. "I 100% have a lot of time and respect for the football club.

"The fans were really good to me when I was there. My main focus is Derby County and I'd like Blackburn to get promoted – the group of player there are fantastic, the staff behind the scenes really care about the football club as well.

"They have an opportunity to get into the top six where I left them and good luck to them."

Toy snakes of various shapes and sizes were waved about by Blackburn fans at Pride Park on Saturday

Eustace's parting shot to his former club was to wish them well for their quest for promotion, although Derby's win did dent their hopes as Rovers are now three points adrift of the play-off places.

The 45-year-old was, of course, more eager to speak of the task he has at Pride Park.

Victory was Derby's first since late December and moved them off the bottom of the table and to within four points of safety.

"My job now is to keep Derby in the league, but also to build Derby County over the next three or four years in the right way," he said.

"I don't look at the table, I take each game as it comes. If you start looking at the table and teams you are going to play against and how many points you need, you are in trouble.

"The most important thing now is the next game, which is Coventry and let's see where that takes us."

Eustace praised his players for their "attitude" in the victory, having also revealed after the match how much his side had been rocked by injury during the week.

Striker Lars-Jorgen Salvesen had surgery on a knee injury on Friday that has ruled him out for the rest of the season, while midfielder Ben Osborn may also miss the remainder of the campaign with a hamstring injury.

And while hamstring issues robbed the Rams of the firepower of Kemar Roofe and the industriousness of Ryan Nyambe, they still managed to come up with a much-needed win.

With Forsyth getting the first goal of the Eustace era, there was also something poetic about it as the defender was a team-mate of his now head coach when he was still a player at Derby a decade ago.

"We haven't scored enough goals, but its nice to score a couple today," Eustace said.

"The most pleasing thing is you could see the effort of the group. It's not easy to put the ball in the net.

"We need people to step up and to be the man, and I thought Fozzy at 36 was outstanding today.

"He is an ex-team-mate of mine and I was really pleased for him, his all-round performance was excellent. And Ebou, it was a fantastic poacher's goal as well, his effort today with and without the ball was fantastic, and he really typifies what this group is all about."