Derby County

Derby County head coach John Eustace spoke to BBC Radio Derby following their 2-0 Championship defeat at Watford.

Luca Kjerrumgaard pounced on a low cross to fire past Josh Vickers to give the Hornets the lead after five minutes.

Derby then, pushing for an equaliser, were caught on the break in the 90th minute, with Mamadou Doumbia sliding home the hosts' second following a Rams corner.

"Very disappointed," Eustace said.

"There's not many games this season where I've felt the opposition have wanted it a bit more than us, and today they certainly wanted it more than us, which isn't what we're all about.

"I think that's why it's important in the Championship, there's always opportunities or moments that kick you and reset you.

"Obviously going into the top six last week, we're playing against teams now who want to get into that top six week in, week out, and we're playing against teams who want to stay in this league as well.

"If we're not at the levels required to compete, then we're going to get hurt like we did today."

Ed Still takes charge of his first home game since being appointed Watford head coach last week.

The Hornets are three points behind their sixth-placed opponents but a win by five or more goals, however unlikely, would see them jump from 12th position and overtake Derby.

• Watford have won their past five league games against Derby – they last won as many as six in a row against an opponent in league competition in August 2008 (6 v Ipswich).

• Derby have lost their past two away league games against Watford (1-2 in February 2021 and August 2024), while they have never lost three in a row away to them.

• Watford are winless across their past seven games in the Championship (D4 L3), their worst run without a win outside the Premier League since a 10-game span between October and December 2013.

• Derby County have won each of their past three away league games, last winning more in a row in January 2024 (5 wins). Meanwhile, Derby's last away league win at Watford was back in November 2014 under Steve McClaren (2-1).

• Derby have scored 13 headed goals in the Championship this season, the joint-most in the league this season alongside Coventry City. Indeed, six of those 13 came from Patrick Agyemang – he is a league leader in that category.

Image source, EFL

Puma's Rainbow ball will return to the English Football League as part of an on-going campaign against discrimination and homophobia.

The special edition rainbow ball was introduced in 2024 to mark LGBTQ+ History Month and will be used at every EFL game from 20 February until 1 March.

Manufacturers Puma will make a donation to Football v Homophobia for every goal scored with their rainbow ball across the Championship, League One and League Two.

The donations will help support education against homophobia and promote inclusion across the season.

The EFL have released a video, external to coincide with the campaign which features a Preston North End fan who was charged with a hate crime following homophobic chanting during an FA Cup fixture against Chelsea.

The rainbow ball will also feature in EFL partner EA Sports' FC 26 video game.

"The rainbow ball is a powerful symbol of the values we uphold across the EFL all season long," EFL chief executive officer Trevor Birch said.

"It not only reflects our longstanding commitment to ensuring the League is representative of all its diverse communities, but also reminds us that we all have a role to play in creating an environment in which everyone feels they truly belong."

Sam Fletcher
Final Score reporter

Image source, Getty Images

As John Eustace celebrates one year at the helm, Derby fans will perhaps be both pleased and surprised to see the drastic turnaround he's achieved.

When Eustace arrived at Pride Park this time last year Derby had amassed just 29 points and had a relegation battle on their hands. Today, following Saturday's win against fellow play-off chasers Swansea, they are in sixth place.

They've also now scored in every one of their last 22 league games, the longest streak of any team in the top four divisions in England.

After a lacklustre first half against Swansea, it was a different story after the break and you could start to see where their success has come from.

They leave no crumbs when it comes to set-pieces and have so many attacking options who are in good form.

With Sam Szmodics now in the fold and top scorer Carlton Morris playing his first few minutes after injury, it might become difficult to choose who to have in attack in the starting 11.

Image source, Getty Images

Derby County head coach John Eustace watched his side move into the play-off spots, and was happy to overcome some indifferent home form.

The 2-0 win over Swansea City was just a fifth home win from 17 league games this season - comfortably the worst record of any of the sides in the top half of the table.

But goals from Rhian Brewster and Patrick Agyemang ensured the Rams climbed above four sides not in action, to end the day in sixth.

"First half the gaps between front and back were too big, which was disappointing," said Eustace.

"Every time we won the ball back, we lost a duel or were a little slower in possession, which gave them the emphasis of the game.

"But they didn't really cause us any issues. Second half we changed one or two things and our shape was much more connected.

"We spoke about how we'd look to beat them on set-pieces and today was very much a set-piece game.

"We haven't won at home consistently enough this year and the main thing was to make sure we won the game."

Image source, EFL

Championship leaders Middlesbrough are celebrating winning both the manager and player of the month awards for January.

Boss Kim Hellberg led Boro to five wins from their six league games last month, with them scoring 14 goals as they chased down the leaders Coventry City before overtaking them at the top of the table last weekend.

Midfielder Alan Browne won the player award, having also filled in at wing-back and scored three goals.

Philippe Clement of Norwich, Wrexham's Phil Parkinson and Derby head coach John Eustace were also nominated for the manager accolade.

Wrexham striker Sam Smith and defenders Charlie Hughes (Hull City) and Caleb Taylor (Millwall) missed out of the player award.

Middlesbrough visit second-placed Coventry in the Championship on Monday night (20:00 GMT).

Image source, Getty Images

The nominees for January's Championship Manager of the Month award have been announced.

Philippe Clement guided Norwich to four wins from six games last month to pull clear of the relegation zone, winning on the road at QPR, Wrexham and West Brom and toppling then-leaders Coventry at Carrow Road.

John Eustace also picked up 12 points with Derby, starting the year with a home win over Middlesbrough and collecting three away wins, culminating in a 5-0 thumping of Bristol City.

Kim Hellberg's Middlesbrough earned five wins from their six fixtures, scoring 14 goals, with 4-0 home wins over Preston and Southampton and a 1-0 success against in-form Norwich to round off the month.

Phil Parkinson led Wrexham to 13 points from their six games to move into the play-off places, their four wins included a 2-1 success at Derby and a dramatic 3-2 victory at QPR.

The winner will be announced on Friday.

Andrew Aloia
BBC Sport, East Midlands at Moor Farm

Image source, Getty Images

Derby County's leading scorer Carlton Morris could return after almost three months out injured to face Swansea City in the Championship on Saturday.

The 30-year-old had netted 10 league goals and scored in four consecutive games before sustaining an ankle injury in November's defeat by Watford.

Derby boss John Eustace confirmed that former Luton Town, Norwich City and Barnsley forward Morris could "possibly" feature in the matchday squad again this weekend after a 16-game absence.

"He has trained three times with the group now, but it is really important that we don't push him too much because we don't want to lose him again," he told BBC Radio Derby.

"Let's see how he is tomorrow [Friday] to see if he is involved on Saturday. And if he's not, then I'm sure it won't be long until he is back in the squad in the games coming up."

Morris' possible return could coincide with the much-anticipated debut for loanee forward Sam Szmodics, who was unable to feature immediately after arrival as the Rams faced parent club Ipswich Town last week.

"He will be in the squad, so we will see. I want to give him some minutes, of course I do, but the lads have been terrific so let's just wait and see on that," Eustace said.

Szmodics is a player Eustace knows well, with the forward finishing as the Championship's top scorer in 2023-24 while playing under the now Rams boss at Blackburn..

When asked about Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna's comments about Szmodics' loan departure "not being about football reasons", Eustace defended the player as "a terrific lad and top professional".

"He is a team player, who wants to learn and help others around him. That's my experience of working with Sam," he added.

Derby County seek a place in the top six when they host Swansea City on Saturday (15:00 GMT).

The Rams are just two points short of sixth place and only Preston North End have the power to deny them a spot in the play-off positions should they take all three points.

But the Swans are enjoying a much better portion of their season than they did at the start and will be aiming for a fourth win in five league games.

• Following their 2-1 win in November, Derby are looking to complete the league double over Swansea for the first time since 1985-86 in the third tier.

• Swansea have won just two of their last 11 away league games against Derby (D4 L5), though did win this exact fixture 2-1 last season.

• Derby County have scored in each of their last 21 league games, the longest ongoing streak of any side currently in England's top four tiers.

• Until the end of November, Swansea had won just four of their 18 Championship games this season, with only Sheffield Wednesday (1) and Norwich (3) winning fewer. They've since won eight of their last 13, with only Middlesbrough (9) winning more since the start of December.

• Derby's Rhian Brewster has scored in his last two league appearances – he's never scored in three in a row in English league football.

Grace Ballinger
BBC Sport East Midlands

Forward Rhian Brewster says Derby County need "better quality in the final third" after missed chances cost them against fellow promotion hopefuls Ipswich Town.

Brewster, 25, scored the Rams' only goal in their 2-1 defeat by Ipswich at Pride Park on Saturday.

Speaking to BBC Radio Derby, Brewster said he thought "for the majority of the game" the Rams were "the better team".

"We stuck to the game plan and conceded early on to a set-piece," he added.

"I thought the boys responded very well. We kept pushing, kept going and equalised, and then conceded against the run of play."

Brewster said he is not immune to criticism and took responsibility for missing opportunities which have been costing his side.

"I think the quality in the final third just needs to be better from me and from everybody," he said.

"We will try to put it right on the training pitch and try to put it right next week."

Derby are currently are ninth in the Championship table, and Brewster made it clear that a top-six finish is what the Rams want.

"Our aim for the next 15 games is to win as many as possible and get into the play-offs," he said.

Amelia Warren
Fan writer

After the 5-0 thrashing of Bristol City on the road, Derby were looking to spark some life back into their home form at the weekend.

The Rams have only won four out of 16 matches at home so far this campaign, with just 40% of their current total points tally coming from results at Pride Park.

After a game that ebbed and flowed in momentum for both sides, Derby ultimately fell to defeat for a sixth time at home this season.

The main difference, for me, was Ipswich seeming to have just that little bit more in every sense. More quality on the ball, more energy, and better strength in depth on the day, proven by the quality of their substitutes bench.

Derby were limited to only having one shot on target throughout the whole 90 minutes, and that came from Rhian Brewster's penalty.

Despite carving out half-chances, and 'glimmer of hope' moments in the final third throughout the game, Derby never quite had that cutting edge to trouble Christian Walton in the Ipswich net, with the Rams only registering a pretty lacklustre 0.08 expected goals from open play all afternoon.

Despite the loss, and lack of clear-cut chances created, the performance that Derby produced was actually far from disappointing.

You felt as though the Rams were constantly having a go at Ipswich, and trying to get on the front foot as much as possible, which they have been guilty of not doing often enough at home this season.

When the likes of David Ozoh, Bobby Clark and Lewis Travis were on the ball in midfield areas, they were constantly looking for the killer pass forwards, or trying to take Ipswich defenders on to open up space for shots and opportunities.

Similarly, in wide areas, we saw Ben Brereton Diaz, Joe Ward and debutant Derry John Murkin trying to put dangerous balls into the box.

Image source, Getty Images

Although the execution was not always perfect, it made for a much more entertaining watch than sitting back for 90 minutes, and seeing much less of the ball than our opponents.

You could not fault the passion, desire and fight of every player in a Derby shirt, and as a fan I feel as though that is the main non-negotiable despite the calibre of opposition, or whether the result is going in our favour or not.

I would not be surprised to see Ipswich finish in the automatic promotion spots come May, and to say Derby have only been narrowly defeated 4-3 by them over two matches I think is pretty respectable, and encouraging, as a supporter.

Particularly when you also consider Ipswich's estimated wage bill to be just under double that of Derby's.

This Saturday's fixture against Swansea City, I feel, is much more of a "must-win" game, compared to the battle with Ipswich.

If the Rams seriously want to be considered as part of the play-off picture, they need to pick up a good run of home form pretty quickly, and what better way to start that than against a team who sit just 19th in the away form table.

It sounds bizarre to say it after losing a game, but if we replicate the level of performance that we put in against Ipswich, and are able to be more clinical in the final third, I believe we will have more than enough to overcome the Swans.

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

Image source, Getty Images

Derby County boss John Eustace said the 2-1 home defeat against promotion-chasing Ipswich Town was tough on his side.

"I thought we were excellent today. It's frustrating to lose but I am very proud of the effort," Eustace told BBC Radio Derby.

"I think you can see how we are growing and evolving as a team. Our football, at times, was really good.

"There are still lots of improvements to come, but we are playing against a top, top team with fantastic players. You can see the players they brought off the bench today - and that's what we are competing against.

"I thought we went toe-to-toe with them and I don't think we deserved to lose the game. There are lots of positives to take.

"I would have loved to have started a bit quicker. It's disappointing we couldn't get a second. We need to be better in the final third. But we are still learning."

Dominic Dietrich
BBC Radio Derby

Image source, Getty Images

German coach Christoph Buhler begins work today at Moor Farm with Rams boss John Eustace as he joins the Derby County coaching team.

The 48-year-old has previously worked at Norwich City, Huddersfield Town, Schalke and Swiss club Young Boys as assistant to compatriot David Wagner.

Buhler will be in charge of opposition insight and the integration of academy players into the first team at Pride Park.

Image source, Opta

There's a big game in the Championship promotion race on Saturday lunchtime as Derby welcome Ipswich to Pride Park (12:31 GMT).

The Rams like seventh, two points outside the play-off places and six points below the Tractor Boys, who start the day fourth, seven points outside the automatic promotion spots, though still with a game in hand on the sides above them.

Derby's 5-0 romp at Bristol City on Friday was their third straight away win, but they have won just one of their past eight home games in all competitions.

Ipswich salvaged a late point against Preston on Saturday but though they have a good record at Derby of late, Town have won only one of their past six on their travels.

• Derby are winless in their past four league games against Ipswich (D2 L2) since a 2-0 home win in August 2018.

• Ipswich have won four of their past five away league games against Derby (L1), keeping a clean sheet in each victory.

• Derby have won just one of their past seven home league games (D3 L3), beating Middlesbrough 1-0 on New Year's Day.

• Ipswich have won just one of their past six away league games (D2 L3), beating league leaders Coventry City 2-0 in December.

• Derby have scored in each of their past 20 league games, last having a longer scoring streak between November 1975 and April 1976 in the top-flight (21).

Ed Dawes
BBC Radio Derby Sport

Image source, Shutterstock

As January transfer windows go at Pride Park, this one must rank among the most successful in a very long time. Derby entered it looking beyond the end of the current campaign, with a clear focus on strengthening their armoury for next season.

The key aspect for me was the trading of players on the periphery of John Eustace's squad. Freeing up the wage budget allowed the recruitment team to flex a small muscle in the market, resulting in several exciting arrivals.

Those departing were not Eustace signings, a clear signpost that the Rams are trading up. Curtis Nelson, Kayden Jackson and Ebou Adams signalled the end of an era but also brought in useful transfer income from players who had done their job for the club.

The loan departures for Corey Blackett-Taylor, Ryan Nyambe and Jake Rooney suggest something further down the line, with Blackett-Taylor and Nyambe still having a year left on their deals, and Rooney's contract expiring in the summer.

This feels like a window of signings built with August in mind rather than the short term.

The first deal completed was Dion Sanderson on a permanent basis. The 26-year-old is very much a Eustace disciple and has impressed since arriving on loan last summer. That move also freed up a valuable loan slot. That was filled by young Burnley winger Jaydon Banel. He's raw and clearly talented. So, it will be exciting to see his development.

Next came little-known Danish midfielder Oscar Fraulo. We were quickly warned he would need a four-week training regime before featuring yet he threw himself into the FA Cup tie against Leeds and has since delivered encouraging cameo appearances from the bench.

Then followed a month-long wait for Derby's next move, which again brought another unfamiliar name in 26-year-old Derry Murkin from FC Utrecht. He was born in Colchester but raised in the Netherlands from the age of four. His footage shows a strong, athletic, attacking full-back entering his peak years and the left-back position has been a priority for Eustace since Owen Beck's pre-season injury ended any chance of him becoming a Ram.

Finally came Ipswich Town striker Sammie Szmodics joining on loan - a long-running rumour. Another Colchester-born player, Szmodics, enjoyed his best season under Eustace at Blackburn in 2023-24, scoring 33 goals in 48 appearances. He clearly unlocked something that Kieran McKenna could not at Portman Road although Szmodics did have injuries and a difficult Premier League season to contend with.

How Eustace fits Szmodics, Bobby Clark, Rhian Brewster and Fraulo into his starting XI is a welcome conundrum with the Rams seventh in the Championship, two points outside the top six.

Now the window has closed, the view presents two horizons. One is a straight road with a sensible destination signposted, the other flashing with glitz, bells and whistles. The problem is, the route to the second is littered with bumps.

Amelia Warren
Fan writer

Image source, Getty Images

After a disappointing end against a struggling West Bromwich Albion, the Rams were looking to get back to winning ways and go four games unbeaten.

Despite an exceptional run of away form, which currently sees the Rams at the top of the Championship away form table, I'm not sure anyone quite expected we'd go to Bristol City and win 5-0.

The most impressive part of the evening for me, aside from the quality of the performance and result, was seeing five different names on the scoresheet.

Going back to when Carlton Morris picked up his injury, there was so much talk and concern around where the goals would come from. However, the Rams have had absolutely no trouble in front of goal without him.

Patrick Agyemang has been Derby's main talisman in Morris' absence, racking up nine goals and three assists so far this campaign.

On Friday night though, Derby's entire squad showed their worth. From Agyemang right the way through to super sub Lars Jorgen Salvesen, everything the Rams touched in an attacking sense turned to goals.

Teams that are able to score goals from all over the pitch, with numerous different players getting in on the act, are normally the ones who end up in and around the top six at the end of the season.

It's so crucial if you're trying to mount a play-off push, which many of the playing staff have insisted Derby are, that you don't just rely on one player to bring all your joy.

Each goal Derby scored on Friday night was so intelligently crafted. Whether it was a fast paced one-touch break or an exceptional cross into the box that split the defence apart, Derby looked like they had an array of different attacking patterns of play for the first time this season.

For a while, particularly at home, it's felt like Derby have been very one dimensional, finding the wide areas and firing crosses into the likes of Agyemang and Morris, who use their physicality and aerial ability to produce.

On Friday however, we got to witness some really impressive passing and movement, one-touch football and clinical finishing.

I'd go as far to say it was the best Derby performance I've seen since we travelled to Elland Road in the second leg of the play-off semi-finals in 2019.

It feels like, for the first time in his tenure, we've got to a point where John Eustace has the personnel and options to play the style of football he wants.

The standards have been set by the Rams now. Derby have proven they can produce some high intensity, attractive football, so going forward it's about making it a consistent theme, particularly at Pride Park.

A very different - and tough - test comes at the weekend against Ipswich Town. This will be Derby's best chance yet to use their confidence and momentum to turn their home form around. While the Tractor Boys come with a strong squad and league position, I believe if Derby can replicate anything like their performance at Ashton Gate, the Rams' unbeaten streak will extend to five matches.

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