Derby County

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Derby boss John Eustace was delighted with Carlton Morris for scoring the only goal on his debut as Rams skipper.

Morris' 10th-minute strike against QPR at Pride Park earned Derby their second home win and clean sheet in four days and Eustace feels the club are finally heading in the right direction.

He told BBC Radio Derby: "We made Carlton captain today and that was a captain's performance. Since he's been at the club, he's been a fantastic character and a great leader.

"That's five in 12, which is good and great for him, but his all-round game has been outstanding since he's been here.

"That's 12 games in, which is still very early in this league. There's been a lot of turnover and a lot of change with players and with systems.

"Everyone has to be very focused on doing what they can for Derby County and believe in the process. There are going to be highs and lows and when there are lows, we have to stick together. This is a small step in the right direction."

Derby County will look to turn their season around as they host Queens Park Rangers on Saturday (15:00 BST).

The Rams put an end to five league match winless streak when they beat Norwich City in the week to lift themselves out of catching distance of the bottom three.

Visitors QPR will be a different task though, with the side up the other end of the table and eyeing a place in the top six.

• Derby have lost five of their last seven league games against QPR (W2), losing 4-0 in the most recent meeting in February.

• QPR have only lost one of their last four away league games against Derby (W2 D1) but it came in the most recent visit last season, losing 2-0.

• Derby have won just one of their last nine home league games (D5 L3), though it did come in their last outing at Pride Park vs Norwich City in midweek (1-0).

• QPR have won six of their last nine away league games (D1 L2), as many as in their previous 25 on the road (D8 L11).

• Derby's Patrick Agyemang has been involved in four of their last five league goals (1 goal, 3 assists); since the start of September only Ryan Giles (5) has more Championship assists.

Derby County boss John Eustace says it was great to get off the mark at home and his side is looking forward to playing in front of their own fans again on Saturday.

The Rams recorded their first points of the season at Pride Park on Tuesday as they beat struggling Norwich 1-0.

The victory saw Derby rise to 19th in the Championship as they prepare to host Queens Park Rangers on Saturday (15:00 BST).

"We haven't won as many games at home as we want. We've come close on a couple of occasions but the most important thing on Saturday is that we follow-up on Tuesday's result and be very competitive," Eustace told BBC Radio Derby.

"As long as we're competitive in every game we play then we always give ourselves a chance."

Tuesday's victory also saw the return of defender Sondre Langas who played the second 45 minutes.

"He's a leader and a character, it's great to have him back.

"It's important we don't ask too much of him, we don't want him to break down, we want to protect him."

Listen to the full interview and more on BBC Sounds.

Amelia Warren
Fan writer

At Oxford on Saturday, and for the first half against Norwich at Pride Park on Tuesday, Derby were nowhere near good enough.

What looked to be the biggest problem for the Rams on both occasions was their formation and set-up - starting with a 4-2-3-1 approach, which actually seemed to be executed as more of a 4-2-4.

The Rams looked a man light in midfield and also isolated their wide players with Ben Brereton Diaz and Rhian Brewster left struggling to make an impact on the game.

Repeating the approach from Saturday's disappointing defeat by Oxford made Pride Park a cauldron of hostility in the first half with fans rightfully venting their frustrations at their side struggling to retain possession and lacking in creative ideas when they did get on the ball.

It was clear something needed to change at half-time to ensure the Rams didn't end up with deja vu from the weekend. The hope in the stands was to bring in Norwegian defender Sondre Langas in place of one of the two wide players and switch to a 3-5-2 formation.

Langas has been out of action for Derby since the end of last season, after recovering from surgery on a torn meniscus that he played through at the back end of the last campaign, during the Rams' fight for survival.

His defensive capabilities, quality on the ball, leadership qualities and resilient mentality are all traits Derby have missed so far this season. Having one of the best players at the club back in the squad has been a huge boost.

Head coach John Eustace had clearly heard the fans' calls to action at the interval as he brought the Norwegian on for winger Brewster.

The earlier Pride Park cauldron of hostility quickly turned into a cauldron of hope.

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All the frustrations and bored yawns of the first half were a distant memory as one substitution completely shifted the momentum of the game in Derby's favour.

Sharper patterns of play, creating chances through the use of the wingbacks and pressing and winning the ball higher up the pitch saw Derby inevitably go 1-0 up through a superb David Ozoh finish after some excellent perseverance from Patrick Agyemang.

The Rams continued their search for a second, while also standing strong defensively and riding out a couple of threats from the visitors. Jacob Widell Zetterstrom can once again be proud of his performance, after being Derby's best performer at the weekend.

In the end, a resilient effort to manage the game and maintain the one-goal lead was creditable and promising from Derby. It shows that with a slight shuffle to the set-up, we have the capabilities to play a more exciting brand of football, one that I must say the players also look much more comfortable and confident in executing.

In the game against Queens Park Rangers on Saturday, I would be disappointed and entirely shocked if Eustace didn't start with a back five after the positive difference it made on Tuesday. I'd also expect to see almost all the same personnel that began the second half against Norwich, barring Ebou Adams who will now unfortunately miss out on the weekend through suspension.

It will be interesting to see, without a fit Lewis Travis or Liam Thompson to replace him, who will get the nod in that midfield role with Ozoh, and how taking Adams out of the line-up may affect the team.

However, if we play with the directness, intensity, desire and quality of Tuesday's second-half display, I can see us causing QPR a few problems at the weekend.

A game that now feels like it can be looked forward to rather than dreaded, after a much improved and promising 45 minutes of football.

You can often catch Amelia Warren, external as a guest on BBC Radio Derby.

Derby head coach John Eustace was delighted his players answered his call to bounce back from their defeat at Oxford by beating Norwich.

David Ozoh scored the only goal at Pride Park as Derby won at home for the first time in nine league games.

Eustace told BBC Radio Derby: "I'm very proud of the effort of the group. I thought in the second half they were excellent.

"We said we would probably have to suffer at times against a really good possession-based team and I thought in the first half we suffered a bit too much, so to come in at 0-0 at half-time was great.

"The tweaks we made, change of shape and personnel, were perfect. We then went out on the front foot and that was pleasing.

"I'm just pleased for the group after Saturday and that performance, but the fight we showed tonight was excellent."

John Eustace's Derby County are without a win from their past five league matches while it is six games since Liam Manning and Norwich City last tasted victory.

One of these sides could find themselves in the Championship relegation zone by the end of the evening.

• Both sides have scored in 13 of the past 17 league meetings between Derby County and Norwich City, with the Rams scoring 26 goals and conceding 25 in this period.

• Norwich City have won both of their past two league visits to Derby, as many as their previous 12 beforehand (D5 L5).

• Derby are winless in eight home league games (D5 L3), their longest such run since December 2020 (12).

• Norwich have both scored and conceded in 10 of their past 12 away league games, scoring 13 goals and conceding 17 during that time.

• Eustace remains winless in six Championship meetings with Norwich City (D2 L4) – the most he's faced a side as a manager in the division without winning.

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Derby County boss John Eustace blamed lack of aggression for his side's disappointing 1-0 defeat at Oxford United.

The Rams were second best for much of the game and failed to seriously test the home keeper, while Jacob Widell Zetterstrom had to be at his best to save them from a far heavier loss.

"We started the game well, got in some really good positions - the goal comes from us not being defensively strong enough on the turnover," Eustace told BBC Radio Derby.

"From there we kind of lost our way, we huffed and puffed and were second best. We just lacked that leadership, that knowhow and it was too easy for them to play through us.

"Today it wasn't about tactics, it was just about losing too many duels and not being aggressive enough.

"We need to be realistic, we've had the international break, we've had four players away so we haven't been able to work with them, and it's about time on the training field, trying to keep the players fit now and trying to get the right balance."

The Rams will be at home to out of sorts Norwich City in their next game on Tuesday evening.

The international break is finally over and Oxford United and Derby get back to business with a meeting at the Kassam Stadium on Saturday lunchtime (12:30 BST).

The U's slipped into the relegation zone last time out courtesy of a 2-1 defeat at Watford, making it one point from their past three Championship games and Gary Rowett's men are still awaiting their first home win of the season.

The Rams are two places and two points better off, though , like their hosts, have also won only one of their nine games so far.

John Eustace's side have scored only four and conceded only four in their past five games, with the past three ending in 1-1 draws.

• Oxford United have won just one of their past seven Football League games against Derby County (D2 L4), with both encounters last season ending level.

• Derby County are unbeaten as a visiting side to Oxford United in the Football League this century, winning on two of their three trips (D1).

• After a run of four successive home league wins between December 2024 and January 2025, Oxford have only won three of their past 12 games since (D3 L6), failing to win any of their last four (D2 L2).

• Only Watford (8) and Southampton (7) have earned more points from losing positions in the Championship this season than Derby (5), coming from behind to draw each of their past three matches.

• Patrick Agyemang has been involved in three of Derby County's past four Championship goals, scoring against Southampton last time out and assisting in games against West Brom and Wrexham in September.

Dominic Dietrich
BBC Radio Derby

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Mark Thomas' departure is one that feels like it's been coming for a while.

Arriving as a head of recruitment and having a changed role to head of talent identification wouldn't have been the trajectory I'm sure he will have wanted, nor possibly the club.

Before the arrival of Leigh Bromby, much of Derby's recruitment had been criticised, granted in more trying circumstances financially and this feels like a move that could be best for both parties as Bromby showed his ability in the summer to get deals done.

Bromby staying offers consistency to Derby this season, but clearly the club have not been able to find a fitting replacement long term having been in the process for some time. He had a busy window restructuring John Eustace's squad and that relationship between the pair from what I gather is a strong one.

The biggest loss here for Derby County is no doubt, Matt Hale. From what I understand his work has been highly thought of at Moor Farm and he really seems to have got the academy ticking again following administration but it seems someone else is going to have to take that on from here.

There will also be a change up in the sporting intelligence department as they look set to recruit two roles in the data analytics department - one will be heading it up whilst the other will be their deputy.

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Derby County's head of talent identification Mark Thomas has left the club by mutual consent.

Thomas, who joined the Rams in February 2023 as head of recruitment from Oxford United, leaves after a change in the structure of the sporting intelligence department at Derby.

BBC Radio Derby understands he did not feel the role was the right fit for him.

Interim head of recruitment Leigh Bromby will now stay at the club through the January transfer window after initially being appointed to help the club in the summer.

The club is still looking to appoint a permanent successor.

Academy manager Matt Hale will also leave his role at the end of the season due to personal reasons.

Hale joined the club in June 2023 after 10 years at Southampton, tasked with the rebuild of the club's category one academy.

Derby County would not want to lose on-loan midfielder Bobby Clark in January, says head coach John Eustace.

Reports in Scotland claim the RB Salzburg loanee is being lined up for a permanent switch to Celtic.

"It's the first I've heard of it - we don't want to lose him because we brought him in to help develop him and give him a platform to perform and he's certainly done that up until now," Eustace told BBC Radio Derby.

"It's great that big clubs like Celtic are looking at him but we certainly don't want him to go there - but January is a long way away and I'm not worried about that so let's keep giving him some important minutes and see how his performances are between now and then."

Clark, 20, came through Liverpool's academy but made just one Premier League start before moving to RB Salzburg in September 2024. He joined Derby in August and Eustace accepts they would be the last to know if any move had been agreed.

"All we can do is keep working with Bobby - any player coming in will see there's a pathway to playing in Europe and moving to possibly bigger clubs but the important thing is Bobby is our player until then at least and we keep working well with him and he keeps performing for us."

Derby return to Championship action at Oxford United on Saturday (12:30 BST).

"At Oxford United away Derby County need to go into it looking to get three points - I can't imagine John Eustace will be looking at that game with any other thought.

"It is an opportunity and Derby have been good on the road and even better in some games on the road as well this season - it is an opportunity, that is the key word."

Ed Dawes, Dominic Dietrich and former Rams striker Malcolm Christie give their predictions for Derby's next six games, and what wins on the road might mean for the Rams' season.

Listen to the latest episode of Rams Weekly and more Derby County content on BBC Sounds.

Dominic Dietrich
BBC Radio Derby

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Derby County have eight players from across the first team and academy currently out on international duty.

Fresh off his first goal for the Rams in the 1-1 draw against Southampton last Saturday, striker Patrick Agyemang (pictured) has gone away with the USA for the first time since recovering from hernia surgery.

The Americans host Ecuador in a friendly due to kick off at 01:30 BST on Saturday and will also be in contention to face Australia at 02:00 BST on Wednesday.

Midfielder Ebou Adams has once again joined up with The Gambia for their FIFA World Cup Group F qualifiers against Gabon on Friday (14:00 BST) and Seychelles in their final qualifier on Tuesday (14:00 BST).

Loan forward Ben Brereton Díaz links up with the Chile squad for their friendly against Peru on Friday night (00:00 BST), while defender Max Johnston was a late call-up for Scotland for their World Cup qualifiers at home to Greece on Thursday (19:45 BST) and Belarus on Sunday (17:00 BST).

Looking at the academy players in action, under-21s midfielder Cruz Allen joins the Wales Under-19s again, while midfielder Darren Robinson, currently out on loan with St Patrick's Athletic in Ireland, will join Northern Ireland's under-21s.

Defender Daniel Cox, on loan at Walsall, will join up with the Wales Under-21s, while under-18s midfielder Sean Corry has been called up to the Northern Ireland under-19 squad.

"That Southampton or Ipswich performance was the benchmark.

"I don't think either of them, when we look towards the end of the season, will be our best performance. There's loads and loads of positive things to come moving forward."

Ed Dawes, Dominic Dietrich and former Rams striker Malcolm Christie look ahead to how Derby County can evolve after the international break and what's impressed so far.

Listen to the latest episode of Rams Weekly and more Derby County content on BBC Sounds.

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Derby County full-back Max Johnston has been called into the Scotland squad for their World Cup qualifiers against Greece and Belarus.

The 21-year-old has been added to Steve Clarke's squad for the games at Hampden Park on Thursday and Sunday.

Johnston has four caps, having made his senior debut in a Uefa Nations League win over Greece in March this year.

The former Motherwell defender joined Derby from Austrian Bundesliga side Sturm Graz for an undisclosed fee in August.

Scotland are currently second in their World Cup qualifying group after two games, behind the leaders Denmark on goal difference, with the top side qualifying automatically and the runners-up facing a play-off.

Amelia Warren
Fan writer

A 1-1 draw at Wrexham the previous weekend and a 1-1 draw with Charlton in midweek meant Derby went into their tough fixture against recently-relegated Southampton perhaps less confident than they would have hoped.

Yet again, though, Derby found themselves coming away with a point, through yet another 1-1 draw, heading into the second international break of the season as the league's "draw specialists", having drawn five of their opening nine matches.

As frustrating as it is that Derby can't seem to find a winning formula, it's arguably more important the Rams are showing resilience and aren't being defeated.

After falling behind in each of their past three fixtures, Derby have managed to bounce back and get an equaliser, showcasing the fighting mentality that John Eustace has projected onto the team since joining the club.

Some positives to take into the international break: Patrick Agyemang and Ben Brereton Diaz being up and running with goals. If Derby can have more than one attacker in form and high on confidence, the goals will come.

It's not that the Rams aren't creating good attacking opportunities, at times it's just been a lack of execution in the final third that's been the difference.

However, now you have Agyemang, Brereton Diaz, Rhian Brewster and Carlton Morris all with goals to their name, and once that first goal has come for an attacker at their new club, it gives them so much more confidence and self belief to go on and add to their tallies.

The midfield balance is improving: Since the signing of Lewis Travis, boss Eustace has found himself with a headache in the middle of the park, having to decide which of Ebou Adams, Travis and David Ozoh to play together as a central two.

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The midfield conundrum has also been a hot talking point among fans, with many split between playing Travis and Adams, or playing Travis and Ozoh.

However, after watching the Travis and Ozoh pairing from the start on Saturday, I believe there's actually a case for both combinations, and potentially even an Ozoh and Adams option too, depending on the opposition.

Against more aggressive and physical opponents, Adams must start. His ability to win the ball back, his strength and aggression are all very much traits the team needs against "lesser" opposition who like to make the game as tough as possible for us.

However, against more technically gifted teams, Adams has recently lacked the quality needed in the middle of the pitch to retain possession and keep the team moving in an attacking sense. That for me is exactly where Ozoh makes the difference.

His natural passing ability, and ability to link play between the centre of the pitch to the attack much more efficiently, allows him to be the better fit against teams you'd expect to be in and around the top half of the table by the end of the season.

There's also a world where Adams and Ozoh could be paired up in midfield throughout the season. Those two have worked well together previously for the club, so there's no reason why they couldn't be trusted to repeat their positive performances.

However, I'm inclined to believe that we'll see a lot less of that combination with Travis being Eustace's main man, and captain.

Regardless, it's great to have depth in the midfield with three quality players who all suit the team in different ways. I wouldn't be surprised to see regular rotation between the three throughout the season, to manage minutes and prevent injuries.

With Brewster returning from his knock, plus Sondre Langas, Owen Beck and Corey Blackett-Taylor all looking to come back into the squad after the break, the Rams should feel a boost over the next week or two that will no doubt keep them hopeful they can find a formula to turn draws into wins as soon as possible.

You can often catch Amelia Warren, external as a guest on BBC Radio Derby.