Derby County

Dominic Dietrich
BBC Radio Derby journalist

Image source, Rex Features

The important thing to note with four games to go, safety is currently in Derby County's hands.

And as they get ready for a season-defining Easter weekend, there is no bigger game than Luton this Friday for the Rams with many comparing it to the importance of last season's promotion-shaping win at home against Bolton Wanderers in League One.

Derby have shown a resurgence since the arrival of John Eustace, losing just one of their past seven, but three points is what they'll need on Friday lunchtime to put some daylight between themselves and the Hatters.

As ever, only three points is up for grabs but the chance to get one over on a team around them is an opportunity they can't afford to pass up.

This is an opportunity they have in three of the remaining four, firstly with Luton, then a trip to play-off-chasing West Brom before back-to-back relegation clashes against Hull City and Stoke City to round it off.

This Derby County team under Eustace have developed a steely structure that has been able to keep the club heading in the right direction but the job is far from done despite their brilliant work to turn this around.

As defender Kane Wilson said post-match at Fratton Park, to let all their hard work of promotion last season go to waste with an immediate relegation back to the third tier would be a damming outcome and the questions of how and why will begin.

Should they have appointed Eustace sooner? Did recruitment cost them? Who is responsible? I guess we'll find out...

Image source, Rex Features

Derby County boss John Eustace has heaped praise on Kane Wilson ahead of his side's big clash against fellow relegation strugglers Luton Town on Good Friday.

Wilson, 25, is out of contract at the end of the season and before a potentially season-defining Easter period, which also includes a trip to West Brom on Monday, Eustace said he has been a long-term admirer of the defender.

"I think Kane's a fantastic young player who I'm really enjoying working with and who I'd love to keep working with," Eustace told BBC Radio Derby.

"He's been excellent, he's a player I watched a lot when he was younger at West Brom and when I was at Kidderminster, I actually looked at trying to get him on loan."

Eustace also confirmed winger Corey Blackett-Taylor, who has missed the previous 13 league matches with a hamstring injury, is back in first-team training but is not ready to make his long-awaited return to action over the Easter weekend.

"I haven't seen any of Corey since I've been here so that was really exciting to watch him train today," he added.

"It will be a bit too early for him in the next couple of games but it gave everyone a boost to have him on the training pitch."

Eustace also confirmed left-back Callum Elder remains unavailable admitting, "he's not progressing as well as we'd like", while Norwegian defender Sondre Langas is a doubt for the Luton game and will be assessed again on Thursday afternoon.

"You can draw parallels to Rory McIlroy's performance on Sunday. You've got to be up for the performance and I thought Derby did that brilliantly."

"I thought a draw was a fair result. Portsmouth played their part in a major, major game."

BBC Radio Derby's Dominic Dietrich and former Derby goalkeeper Eric Steele discuss the fallout from the Rams' 2-2 draw at Portsmouth on Saturday.

The pair also take your calls and look ahead to Derby's clash with fellow relegation strugglers Luton Town at Pride Park on Good Friday.

Listen to the full post-match reaction and more on the Rams Daily podcast.

"The boys will be disappointed but in the end, I think they will look at it and go 'wow'.

"To come here, do that, concede a penalty early on, shows the fight, shows the spirit."

The Rams Daily team are joined by former Derby County goalkeeper Eric Steele to discuss the positives from the Rams' 2-2 draw at Portsmouth despite losing their lead in the 91st minute.

The podcast includes interviews with boss John Eustace and right-back Kane Wilson.

Listen to the full post-match reaction and more on the Rams Daily podcast.

Amelia Warren
Fan writer

Derby's hard fought point on Tuesday against Burnley meant the Rams took plenty of positives down to Portsmouth this weekend.

As expected a tense and fiery atmosphere circled around Fratton Park before kick-off, with neither side guaranteed Championship survival for next season just yet.

The atmosphere that was probably at 75% electricity before kick-off, turned up way past 100 only five minutes into the game, as Rams goalkeeper Jacob Zetterstrom went from zero to hero, first giving away a penalty, and then saving the resulting spot kick in front of a sold out Derby away following.

Rams fans roared in jubilation as Zetterstrom dived down to his left and tipped Colby Bishop's penalty away, whilst home fans put their heads in their hands.

The Championship once again proving to be truly box office stuff, and there was still 85 minutes left to play!

The five yellow cards picked up between both teams in the first half tells you all you need to know about the cauldron of emotion Fratton Park had become in the opening stages.

The consensus from the away end, and across social media at half-time was that Derby would be happy to take a point from this one.

Although Pompey were slightly more in control heading into the break, it was already becoming apparent that this contest would be decided by the finest of margins.

If the first half seemed nerve racking, the second half was going to raise the blood pressure of both sets of supporters even more.

The contest truly came alive just inside the 70th minute.

Veteran Craig Forsyth has been excellent for Derby in the last few weeks, continuing to defy expectations and produce game changing performances week in week out.

36 years old, 16 managers, 318 appearances, and a testimonial later, Fozzy continues to leave everything out on the pitch for Derby in every game he plays.

As Derby prayed for an opening, the Scot recycled his own long throw and provided an assist for Rams' top scorer Jerry Yates.

Forsyth crossed, Yates rose, the net bulged, and the away end? Bedlam.

As Derby fans had just about picked themselves up from the stairwell following the celebrations, and those at home had just sat back down after jumping out of their seats, Pompey equalised.

Poor defending at the front post from a corner saw Rob Atkinson get Portsmouth back into it.

Derby fans couldn't quite believe it had taken little over a minute for all their side's hard work to come undone. From jubilation, to frustration, a familiar feeling for the Rams this season.

One thing Derby have got much better at under John Eustace is making sure they are never down and out.

Eustace rallied his troops, and Ebou Adams showed his leadership qualities, gesturing to the rest of his team that Derby were ready to go again and continue to battle. The Rams weren't ready to roll over.

Atkinson this time chose to go from hero to zero. Kayden Jackson spun a tricky to defend ball into the box and Atkinson could only deflect the cross past his own goalkeeper to put Derby back into the lead, just four minutes after Pompey had drawn level.

Remember when I said bedlam? Try raptures.

Heading into stoppage time the Derby faithful were in fine voice, chants of "We are Derby County and we are staying up" rung out around Fratton Park before one last twist would deny them from taking all three points back up to the East Midlands.

This game was all about Atkinson, a booking, a goal, an own goal, and now another goal.

A 91st-minute equaliser from a long ball forward sent the Pompey crowd wild, with Rams fans stunned to silence at the other end, and once again left very disappointed by more dubious defending.

Adams collapsed to the floor, Nat Phillips hammered his fist into the ground, and fans stood with their hands behind their heads as a crucial three points had slipped out of Derby's grasp in the dying embers, not for the first time this season.

The full time whistle went with a complete mixture of emotions amongst Derby supporters, players, and staff.

Despite the draw feeling more like a loss due to the last minute drama, the Rams battled well to earn a point.

Pompey, would've felt hard done by to take nothing from the game, and Derby perhaps would've felt rather fortunate to take all three points.

A point was overall the fairest result for both sides, but after coming so close to a crucial victory, you can't help but feel slightly deflated to see two points slip away so late on, particularly when conceding a goal that felt totally avoidable.

Despite this though, the overriding emotion from the majority of the Derby faithful was pride, with no complaints about how much effort and heart their side had put in to come away with something from the game.

Image source, PA Media

Derby County head coach John Eustace spoke to BBC Radio Derby after the Rams drew 2-2 with Championship relegation rivals Portsmouth.

"It was an excellent all-round performance," he said.

"We have come to a really difficult place and I don't think many people expected us to get a result here.

"The effort, desire and commitment was there for everyone to see.

"Going into the last five or six minutes while 2-1 up I expect to see it out, but we were under a lot of pressure, they put a lot of good balls into the box, they filled the box. Overall, we defended it very well but it just wasn't well enough today.

"But to come away with a point in the end is a positive result."

Portsmouth and Derby County meet for a vital encounter in the Championship relegation battle at Fratton Park on Saturday (15:00 BST).

Pompey have lost four of their past five games (W1) and are three points above the drop zone.

The Rams have lost just one of their previous six matches (W4 D1) to move out of the bottom three on goal difference and would climb above Portsmouth with victory.

• Portsmouth are without a win in their previous nine league meetings with Derby County (D5 L4) since a 3-1 victory in the Premier League in January 2008.

• Derby have only won one of their past seven league visits to Portsmouth (D4 L2), although are unbeaten in their last four (W1 D3).

• Portsmouth have won 10 of their past 14 home league games (D2 L2), conceding just nine goals in total during that time.

• Derby have won just two of their 20 away league games this season (D5 L13), conceding 1.8 goals on average per match during that time.

• Derby County's John Eustace has faced Portsmouth once before in the Championship as a manager, with that coming in January with Blackburn, a 3-0 win.

Defender Matt Clarke says Derby County have "embraced" their fight for Championship survival.

The 28-year-old returned to the club for a third spell in January, moving back to Pride Park on a permanent deal from second-tier rivals Middlesbrough.

In the first of his two loan stints with Derby, he won the club's Jack Stamps Player of the Season award for the 2019-20 season when the club finished 10th in the Championship.

The following season he helped the Rams narrowly avoid relegation.

Clarke spoke to BBC East Midlands Today about how valuable that experience has been now that he and the Rams are again battling to stay in the division.

"Where we found ourselves in the league isn't ideal, but that's the challenge of football and you have got to embrace it," he said.

"Personally it was an experience that I learned from and I take with me forward into this time.

"You just have to keep going and attack every game as it comes. There is disappointment along the way but you have to keep believing and trying to do the right things. If you do that, you give yourselves the best chance."

Derby are outside the relegation places on goal difference with five matches remaining and next travel to Portsmouth on Saturday.

"That is an absolutely classic John Eustace performance: hard to beat, don't offer up any chances, defend at all times."

Colin Gibson, Ed Dawes and Eric Steele discuss Derby's goalless draw against promotion-hopefuls Burnley at Pride Park and give their views on the Rams' Championship survival hopes.

The episode also includes post-match interviews with Derby boss John Eustace and captain Ebou Adams.

Listen to the full post-match reaction and more on the Rams Daily podcast.

Image source, Rex Features

Boss John Eustace praised his side's unity after holding high-flying Burnley to a draw at Pride Park.

The Rams matched the Clarets in a game of few chances and picked up a point and a clean sheet to stay out the Championship relegation places.

"I am very proud of the group - and the fans," Eustace told BBC Radio Derby. "We went toe to toe against a very good team and on another day we could have nicked a winner.

"The lads are very well drilled. We kept our concentration for 95 minutes. Every player on the pitch did their jobs. We showed we are together against a very good team.

"It took us 20 minutes to get into the game; we were a bit nervous. But as soon as we adjusted a few things with our shape we were on the front foot and we finished the first half very strong.

"In the second half, we competed really well and limited Burnley to nothing, really. And, on another day, maybe we could have nicked a winner."

Derby County boss John Eustace has been speaking to BBC Radio Derby's Rams Daily podcast ahead of the game against Burnley on Tuesday (19:45 BST).

Here are the key takeaways:

• Defender Callum Elder is "improving" following an injury against Swansea, but has been playing through the pain barrier in recent weeks.

• Eustace also praised Sondre Langas, who he said "has been using a lot of painkillers" to get through injury struggles, but that his willingness to "put his body on the line for the group is amazing".

• On Burnley, he said: "They've got matchwinners and quality all over the pitch, and they're a well organised team. Scott [Parker] is a fantastic manager and is doing a really good job".

• Despite the Rams lifting themselves out of the drop zone in recent weeks, Eustace said the "the Championship is relentless", and that he has been "surprised" by the number of injuries to the squad.

• He added: "[We had] four in my first week, got a settled team for four or five games and then lost more players last week".

Listen to Derby boss John Eustace's full interview with the Rams Daily podcast on BBC Sounds.

Derby County saw their four-match win streak come to an end against Swansea and now take on the tough task of hosting new league leaders Burnley on Tuesday (19:45 BST).

The Clarets took top spot following a 2-1 win over play-off contenders Coventry City and have not conceded a league defeat since November.

However, they are only one point above second placed Sheffield United, with Leeds United just two points behind in third, and will need a victory to ensure they stay in an automatic promotion place.

While, the Rams are in desperate need of points themselves. Their latest loss means they are now only kept out of the relegation zone by goal difference.

• Derby County are winless in their last 13 league meetings with Burnley (D4 L9) since a 1-0 victory in January 2007 under Billy Davies.

• Burnley have won four of their last five league visits to Derby (D1), as many as their previous 25 beforehand.

• Derby have won each of their last three home league games but haven't won four in a row in the Championship since February 2021.

• Burnley are unbeaten in their last 16 league games against newly promoted opponents (W10 D6) since a 0-2 defeat to Norwich in the Premier League in April 2022. In the Championship, the Clarets' last defeat to a promoted side was in December 2015 (0-2 v Preston).

• Derby's John Eustace has failed to win all four of his previous Championship games against Burnley as a manager (D2 L2) twice with Birmingham in 2022-23 and two with Blackburn this season.

"It's knocked the stuffing out of us, that performance. At the very least, the Rams should be coming back with a point."

Dominic Dietrich and Ed Dawes are joined by former Rams striker Malcolm Christie to discuss the end of Derby's magical four-match winning run after a single goal at Swansea and the fine margins that defined the game.

Would a high-quality centre-forward have proved the difference?

Includes interviews with boss John Eustace and midfielder Liam Thompson.

Listen to the full post-match reaction and more on the Rams Daily podcast.

Image source, Getty Images

John Eustace says Derby County will address Jerry Yates' future at the end of the season.

Yates has enjoyed a positive campaign having joined Derby on a year-long loan from Swansea last summer.

The striker is the Rams' leading scorer this season having netted eight times in 36 appearances.

As things stand, Yates will return to Swansea at the end of the season, as he is under contract at the Welsh club until at least 2026.

When asked whether he would like to keep Yates beyond the summer, Derby boss Eustace said: "I think Jerry has done very well - that is something we will discuss at the end of the year."

Yates is thought to be one of the higher earners at Swansea having joined from Blackpool in a deal worth about £3m in 2023.

What comes next for the former Rotherham United player is likely to depend to some extent on who is in charge at Swansea, with caretaker boss Alan Sheehan only in place - for the moment at least - for the remainder of this campaign.

Yates was ineligible to feature as Sheehan's Swansea beat Derby 1-0 on Saturday.

When asked whether Yates' absence had been a factor in Derby's first defeat in five games, Eustace added: "Jerry's been great.

"He scored on Wednesday [against Preston] but [Kayden] Jackson came in and did well, he worked his socks off as the rest of the group did."

Amelia Warren
Fan writer

Image source, Getty Images

After Wednesday night's game against Preston lacked quality, hopes were high that Derby's trip to Swansea would provide a bit more excitement.

Unfortunately though, this wasn't to be the case.

Once again there was very little to report on for both sides in the first half, with a deja vu feeling from Wednesday night; a lot of hard-to-break-down defensive play and a lack of attacking impetus from both sides left the contest rightfully goalless.

Derby fans were left sighing and scratching their heads at half-time, as the electronic board showed Oxford United and Plymouth Argyle had taken unexpected leads, making the Championship relegation picture look even tighter.

Three points would've been ideal, of course, but as much as we have looked unstoppable in the past couple of weeks, small tweaks to the starting line-up for the Rams really disrupted our flow, and the consensus at the break seemed to be that we'd be happy to take a point.

Swansea loanee Jerry Yates needing to sit this one out proved to be a big loss, with little attacking threat posed by the Rams all afternoon.

The legs of Yates up front have been a crucial cog in Derby's well-oiled machine for these last four games, applying pressure, creating space for others to advance into, and providing great link-up with Marcus Harness.

Despite Kayden Jackson's work rate, and best efforts to replicate the role of Yates, things just wouldn't drop for him. With the mood in the stands becoming increasingly tense as many believed it just wouldn't be Derby's day.

That would be true, as with their only shot on target of the whole game Swansea took the lead. Extremely frustrating from a Derby perspective as it seemed we'd had the better moments in the match, but just weren't able to find the right decision at the end of a move, the killer pass, or the right strike to give us the advantage.

The old cliché of when it's not your day, it's not your day.

I suppose no team in the bottom five is expected to win five games on the bounce, but to lose to a team who equally offered very little in the way of attacking threat is disappointing.

Despite every other team in the bottom seven bettering Derby's result, the Rams have still managed to stay above the relegation places on goal difference. Really echoing how important wins against Blackburn, Coventry, Plymouth, and Preston have been to keeping Derby's survival hopes alive.

John Eustace will now see his group of players go through a true test of character as they attempt to bounce back from the weekend's disappointment.

Burnley make the trip to Pride Park on Tuesday evening, arriving with a great amount of incentive to win the game and increase their lead at the top of the table.

It will be interesting to see how the squad respond to having their great run of form halted, and how quickly they can dust themselves down and leave this game behind them.

Crucial matches against Hull, Luton, and Stoke you feel will be the real season definers, it's just important we try and gain back some momentum as quick as we can to go into those games with as much confidence as possible.

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

Image source, Getty Images

Derby head coach John Eustace felt the Rams were unlucky not to come away with at least a point from Saturday's trip to Swansea.

Eustace's side remain outside the Championship relegation zone on goal difference alone after the 1-0 defeat in Wales.

"I thought we did well and limited a very good Swansea side to next to nothing," Eustace said.

"I was disappointed in the way we conceded the goal because that hasn't been us of late.

"We needed to defend the box better because if you give a quality team half a chance they will punish you.

"We have just got to keep working hard and be as competitive as we can in every game. The effort of the group was outstanding and we didn't get the result we probably deserved.

"We didn't create many chances but neither did they - it was a tight game.

"It is a mad few weeks coming up but that's the Championship. That's why all we can do is concentrate on what we can do."