Derby County

The Riverside will play host to a game with interest at both ends of the table as Derby visit Middlesbrough on Saturday (15:00 GMT).

Boro stopped the rot after five straight league defeats with a 3-1 win at Stoke in midweek and are still only four points behind fifth-placed West Bromwich Albion, despite having briefly slipped into the bottom-half last weekend.

The Rams are winless since Boxing Day and have scored just two goals in their past nine games to slide to second-bottom, four points from safety.

• Middlesbrough have won just two of their past nine league games against Derby County (D4 L3), though both victories in that time have come at the Riverside Stadium.

• After winning the reverse fixture 1-0 in August, Derby County are looking to record a first league double over Middlesbrough since the 1988-89 season.

• Middlesbrough have lost their past two home league games, last losing three in a row at the Riverside Stadium in April 2022.

• Derby have failed to win any of their past 11 league games, suffering nine defeats in that time (D2). They last had a longer run between September 2007 and August 2008 (36 games).

• Derby have failed to score in each of their past three league games, last having a longer run without a goal in March 2021 (4).

Derby boss John Eustace says he needs a settled team to make things easier as the Rams battle against relegation from the Championship.

Eustace has lost the services of midfielder David Ozoh for the rest of the season and will also be missing defender Matt Clarke for this weekend's game at Middlesbrough.

"Matt came off last week at an important time and will be touch and go for the weekend although it's not as bad as we initially thought so we'll wait and see," Eustace told BBC Radio Derby.

Derby have lost both games since Eustace replaced Paul Warne as boss earlier this month and are now second from bottom of the table.

"Once we get a settled team it will be a lot easier but when you're losing players from the two games we've had already it is difficult and challenging," Eustace added.

"I know when we win that first game there will be a real buzz about the place.

"If we don't win in the next couple of games there's no problems, we'll be very competitive to the end of the season and go on a run of games where we get results."

Keep up with the latest on Derby County by listening to the Rams Daily podcast on BBC Sounds.

"Coming back after that game [the 1-0 loss to Millwall] and talking to other Derby fans, it was certainly a sense of frustration that it feels like we're going down now, particularly after you look at the run-in we've got coming up.

"But still, John Eustace is a ruddy good manager and you've got to keep in mind if he chose to leave Blackburn - a team in the top six - for Derby, he would clearly have a lot of confidence he could keep us up.

"There's still 12 games to go. It's not a huge amount of time but Eustace has shown in his two spells at this level that he's more than capable of turning things around."

Host of the Second Tier podcast Ryan Dilks says it is difficult to see how Derby County can improve but believes there is "still every chance" of avoiding relegation from the Championship.

Dilks joins his podcast co-host Justin Peach and BBC Radio Derby's Ed Dawes to discuss whether or not the Rams can escape danger.

Keep up with the latest on Derby County by listening to the Rams Daily podcast on BBC sounds.

Ed Dawes
BBC Radio Derby commentator

Image source, Rex Features

The baptism of fire new Derby County head coach John Eustace has walked into has all the hallmarks of someone buying a car and then realising it is a cut and shut.

The Rams are unable to move away from the relegation zone in the Championship because nobody can find the accelerator to park the car in the garage, or goal.

Cars aside, the job in hand for Eustace will certainly be the hardest in his managerial career.

There is no doubt his credentials are perfect to manage a club the size of Derby, but currently the model needs a new engine and total respray.

The passengers stay consistent and expectant, but the destination on the sat nav currently says League One.

How has it come to this? The consensus in the fanbase aims the finger at two failed transfer windows. Was the strength of the Championship underestimated? Have Derby tried to compete on the cheap and gambled?

They have spent money. A collective £2.9m on goalkeeper Jacob Widell Zetterström, Ebou Adams and Kenzo Goudmijn. All unproven at Championship level.

The money spent was in return for £4.6m on sold assets with a further £3.4m due.

At 30 years of age Kayden Jackson was a free agent with a record of 28 goals in 199 games.

Jerry Yates was third choice at Swansea and joined on loan, Marcus Harness joined from Ipswich and has spent most the season playing out of position.

Loan midfielder David Ozoh looks the part but has sadly been injured all season, Tawanda Chirewa looked lightweight, got injured and sent back to Wolves, while Nat Phillips looks quality but has also been injured too much.

In truth, Derby have only spent what they have brought in.

Eiran Cashin was sold to Brighton for around £10m and then replaced by prospect Sondre Langas for £4m.

Striker Lars Jorgen Salvesen whose 6ft Viking like appearance has the potential to paralyse defenders, but the poor form of Derby's wide players means he has had little or no service.

Derby have scored four league goals in 11 matches. They haven't won since Boxing Day, losing nine league games.

18 goals from open play all season and they have only had two penalties.

If and right now, when, Derby are relegated from the Championship, it will be down to a lack of goals, lack of quality and composure in the final third.

The quality is the worry. But anyone who assessed the Rams squad in August and watched it up until January will know that the firepower is not good enough at this level.

So why were they unable to strengthen the attacking areas properly both windows? We don't know, we will never know.

Yates has huffed and puffed, scored a few but has spent the season mostly battling defenders a foot taller than him on his own.

But that will be what costs them if they sink to the third tier for the second time in three years.

This time though, it won't be for having 21 points deducted, it will be because the delivery of a season on and off the field looks like, for now at least, it has failed.

Amelia Warren
Fan writer

Image source, Rex Features

Another "same old Derby" feel at the end of the match on Saturday. A game with not much in it which could have easily gone either way, ending in defeat for the Rams.

Millwall have now beaten us on their last five visits to Pride Park, which only rubs salt into the wounds even more.

After Josh Coburn missed Millwall's late penalty and the atmosphere inside Pride Park ramped up, you got the feeling we could go on to grab all three points.

However, once the killer blow of losing David Ozoh to injury was dealt, shortly after seeing Matt Clarke also leave the field limping, it was almost inevitable what was going to follow.

When getting into good attacking positions Derby just didn't take enough risks.

Cries of "shoot" from the South Stand could be heard on multiple occasions throughout the match but poor decision-making, not moving the ball quick enough and a lack of quality caused good opportunities to pass us by.

This Derby team unfortunately still look very short on confidence - something I fear will take John Eustace at least up until the international break to fix.

It may even end up an issue that can't be fixed.

When going forward our wingers and strikers look like they'd rather play the ball safely sideways and backwards, rather than taking on their man or taking on a shot when space opens up.

Ultimately, we can't score goals if we don't take shots and we can't win football matches if we don't score goals. A cycle we can't seem to get out of at the moment.

One positive to take from the game was the clear response in the performance levels from the 4-0 loss to QPR on Valentine's Day.

We had our moments in the game and I don't think you can fault the effort put in by the players who left everything out on the pitch.

However, obvious signs of fatigue and a clear lack of confidence once again proved to be our Achilles heel and you fear the longer our poor run of form continues, the confidence in the squad may only deteriorate further.

That's six games at home without a goal for the Rams now, our longest ever goalless run at Pride Park. We also remain winless in 2025.

Derby sit 23rd in the Championship table, four points from safety to 21st placed Cardiff City, who also have a massive game in hand to play against Hull City on Tuesday.

If we are to retain our Championship status next season, we must find a way to start winning games and take more risks in the final third.

An interesting two weeks await as we face fellow strugglers Middlesbrough next weekend - when I'm expecting a cagey battle between two sides who are both desperately in need of a win - followed by Blackburn Rovers at home, with John Eustace up against the club he left to join the Rams.

Derby are now well into must-win territory and you feel we will need to pick up some points in both fixtures to have any chance of Championship survival.

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

Image source, Getty Images

Goalkeeper Jacob Widell Zetterstrom says Derby County have what it takes to avoid relegation despite sinking further into the Championship drop zone over the weekend.

Saturday's last-gasp defeat by Millwall, combined with other results going against Derby, sees them second from bottom in the table and four points from safety.

Josh Coburn scored the only goal of the game at Pride Park in the 95th minute, having had a penalty saved by Zetterstrom just minutes earlier.

"We are very disappointed," the Swedish goalkeeper told BBC Radio Derby. "But I definitely believe that if we look at the bigger picture of what we did today and what we have done throughout the week, I'm very sure we can find strength in this."

The defeat was Derby's ninth in an 11-game winless league run dating back to late December and their second loss in as many games under John Eustace since his appointment earlier this month.

Despite the woeful run of form, Zetterstrom says Derby are capable of getting out of trouble with 12 games remaining.

"There are so many games left to play and we are fighters, not victims," he said.

"There is so much talent in that room and so much belief in what we can do that there is no point just giving up."

More from Zetterstrom and post-match analysis as well as other interviews are on the Rams Daily podcast on BBC Radio Derby.

Image source, Rex Features

Derby County boss John Eustace said he knew what he was getting into when he swapped the top six of the Championship for the bottom three by leaving Blackburn Rovers to join the Rams.

But, having so far drawn two blanks from his first two games, he admits that the chief task is finding a way to score goals.

The Rams have now managed just five of them, in their winless 12-game league and cup run since beating managerless West Bromwich Albion 2-1 on Boxing Day - and even that was with an own goal.

"We have to improve in the final third," Eustace told BBC Radio Derby. "It's very evident where we need to improve.

"I was under no illusions as to how difficult it was going to be. But I'm here for the long term not the short term.

"The lads are working hard on the training ground. But we need to create more chances. And that just comes from hard work on the training pitch.

"It's very hard to get that magical solution straightaway, but there's lots to work on. And all we can do is keep working with the boys and see where it takes us.

"I'm really disappointed to lose. We didn't deserve to lose, although we probably didn't do enough to win either.

"We were up against a very difficult team in Millwall who haven't lost many games out of the last 10 or 11, so we knew it was going to be tough. But the attitude was very good and the lads never gave up."

Image source, Rex Features

Derby head coach John Eustace says Steve Round's Derby history and "vast experience" make him the ideal man to help the club steer clear of the Championship relegation zone.

The Rams are third from bottom of the table, one point adrift of safety with 13 games still to play.

But Eustace says bringing in Round, who has worked as part of the coaching set-up at numerous clubs, including Newcastle United, Everton, Aston Villa and Arsenal, is a big boost.

Round, like Eustace a former Rams player, and also a one-time coach at the club, has joined the coaching staff on a part-time basis in a support role for the rest of the season. He is part of a new-look backroom team following Paul Warne's sacking.

"Roundy is a friend of mine who I know very well and has a great CV," Eustace told BBC Radio Derby.

"I felt he can come in, help the group and look after everyone. We can use his vast knowledge and experience.

"He is part of the Derby family and knows what it's all about here at the club. He has been here and been very successful.

"He can only be a positive addition to the group."

Listen to John Eustace's full interview on the Rams Daily on BBC Sounds.

What a task new Derby boss John Eustace has on his hands. The new Rams boss saw his side thrashed 4-0 at QPR in his first game in charge and consequently saw his side drop into the Championship relegation zone.

Eustace said after the game that he "learned a lot about the group" after that game and it will be interesting to see how his team reacts after spending a week with them on the training pitch.

They go into this game on a run of no wins in their past 11 games in all competitions.

It's no win in three for Millwall who missed the chance to close the gap on the play-off places in their last outing after their 1-1 draw at Preston.

That was their second consecutive draw with the Lions 14th and six points adrift of the play-off positions.

• Derby County have failed to win any of their last four league games against Millwall (D2 L2), last enduring a longer winless run against the Lions between 1992 and 1994 (six games).

• Millwall have won each of their last four away league games against Derby County since 2019, winning by a one-goal margin in each of those matches.

• Derby County have gone 10 Championship games without a win (D2 L8) since beating West Brom on Boxing Day. The Rams last had a longer winless league run between October and December 2020 (11 games).

• Millwall boss Alex Neil has lost six of his 10 Championship meetings with Derby, though this will be his first since a 1-0 win on Boxing Day in 2020 as Preston manager.

• Derby haven't scored a single goal in any of their last five home league games. The Rams have never previously gone six in a row without a goal on home soil, with this their 2,559th home game in the Football League.

Derby County boss John Eustace says Kemar Roofe is an experienced striker capable of making an immediate impact - even though he will be used sparingly to start with.

The 32-year-old former Rangers and Leeds United forward has joined the Championship relegation battlers on a deal until the end of the season.

He has not featured in a competitive match in more than nine months, having been released by Scottish Premiership side Rangers last summer.

Roofe scored just twice in 24 appearances in his final season at Ibrox, having been limited to just six appearances in the 2022-23 season before that because of knee injuries.

"He has had a lot of injury problems in the past couple of seasons, but he is fit now and hungry," Eustace told BBC Radio Derby.

"We are going to have to manage him properly. He will come in and play a small part initially and let's see where we can get to with him.

"If he can help for the short-term with 10-15 minutes and pop a couple of goals in, that would be great."

Roofe became Eustace's first signing since he left his job as Blackburn Rovers boss to take the helm of Derby a week ago.

The striker was brought in soon after to start training with the Rams.

"He trained on Monday and Tuesday and did enough to show everyone that he can still put the ball in the back of the net, which is what it's all about," Eustace said.

"He will be involved. Ultimately he knows where the goal is and he can put the ball in the net.

"I'm not stupid enough to think that he can come in and start and run channels and press high and all that, but his experience and knowhow is there for everyone to see."

"This change might work, certainly for Jacob Widell Zetterstrom. A new coach sometimes gets the lift off the players and I'm hoping that happens with the outfield.

"Certainly the new goalkeeping coach has a task with getting Zetterstrom back to where we know he can play."

The former Rams goalkeeper Eric Steele is hoping some new voices in the camp might help lift the squad - especially their young, out-of-form goalkeeper - following the departures of coaches Matt Hamshaw and Andy Warrington.

Steele joins Ed Dawes to discuss the shake-up in the backroom staff and how new boss John Eustace and his coaches build back the team's confidence in time to save avoid relegation?

You can keep up to date with with Derby County news and views by listening to the Rams Daily podcast on BBC Sounds.

"When you look at the players that came in the summer - how many of those players have improved since we first saw them? Who is the guy who is going to unlock the door? What a job John Eustace has on his hands."

Dominic Dietrich is joined by former Derby County academy coach Darren Robinson and ex-Rams striker Malcolm Christie to discuss the task ahead for new boss John Eustace with 13 games of the season remaining.

You can keep up to date with with Derby County news and views by listening to the Rams Daily podcast on BBC Sounds.

Chris Peddy
BBC Sport at Loftus Road

Image source, Getty Images

New Derby County boss John Eustace called on the club's fans to get behind his players after they dropped into the Championship relegation zone with defeat in his first game in charge.

The Rams were convincingly beaten 4-0 at Queens Park Rangers one day after Eustace was named as Paul Warne's successor.

Ilias Chair hit a double either side of Koki Saito's close-range finish before Ronnie Edwards rounded off an emphatic victory for Marti Cifuentes' side at Loftus Road.

Former Derby player Eustace could be seen gesturing to the travelling Rams fans to keep their heads up at full-time, as their winless run stretched to 11 games in all competitions.

And in the press conference following the match, he urged the supporters to give their backing to his players to help them secure their safety in the run-in.

"Get right behind the group now [is what I would say to the fans], we've got 13 big games. I know how powerful the fans can be," he said.

"Next week, if we can get 30,000 at Pride Park and really back the boys that'd be fantastic.

"We've got a really exciting week on the training pitch with lots to work on, and I want these players to make the fans proud, and that'll start next week.

"I'm not worried about what's happened in the past now, all I'm worried about is the future, I know this group of players are going to be fighting for every point going forward now."

Eustace will take charge of his first game at Pride Park against Millwall next Saturday.