‘Unfortunately’… John Eustace told why Derby County will still be relegated despite three wins in a row

Add as preferred source on Google

John Eustace has transformed Derby County since his arrival but it won’t be enough to keep them up, according to one expert.

Heading into March, Derby County were on a simply dier run of form that had seen them slump into the relegation zone.

The Rams beat West Bromwich Albion 2-1 on Boxing Day but then failed to win any of their following 12 league fixtures.

However, John Eustace has recently arrived at Pride Park and has greatly improved Derby in their battle for survival.

Eustace’s first win came against Blackburn Rovers, his former club, on March 8.

This was swiftly followed by victories over play-off-chasing Coventry City and relegation rivals Plymouth Argyle.

But nine points from three games may still not be enough to keep Derby up come May.

• READ MORE: Championship relegation battle: How final eight fixtures compare for Derby County, Luton Town, Plymouth Argyle and more

EFL expert still thinks Derby County will be relegated

Eustace’s men went into the international break sitting 22nd in the Championship, now five points clear of Plymouth and three above Luton Town.

However, the battle to avoid being the third and final team relegated is still incredibly tight.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
19	Hull CityHull City	38	10	11	17	39	47	-8	41
20	Stoke CityStoke City	38	9	12	17	37	51	-14	39
21	CardiffCardiff	38	9	12	17	42	62	-20	39
22	DerbyDerby	38	10	8	20	40	51	-11	38
23	LutonLuton	38	9	8	21	34	60	-26	35
24	PlymouthPlymouth	38	7	12	19	40	77	-37	33

Now, speaking on the Second Tier podcast this week, EFL expert and Derby fans Justin Peach expressed his belief that the Rams still haven’t ‘got enough’ to maintain their battle for survival, pointing towards injuries and a small squad as contributing factors.

He said: “I worry. I do worry about Derby. I think John Eustace has turned the ship. They had a really good seven days, they won three on the trot. But their form does show how quickly things can change because heading into this three wins, they lost three.

“So, whilst these three wins does put them in a really good place, it’s not a safe one. And they have got a lot of players out injured, Ben Osborn, Nathaniel Mendez-Laing, David Ozoh’s out for the season.

“These are all important players with experience, aside from Ozoh, and quality that are missing here. So, I think in terms of their squad shape, they’re relying on the same 15/16 individuals to carry them through a very busy period.

“I think fatigue will catch up with them, the lack of players will catch up with them. I just don’t think they’ve got enough to see it out and I’m not even talking about the attacking quality, which is still not there, unfortunately.”

• READ MORE: Three changes John Eustace has already made at Derby County to revive Championship survival hopes

Derby County relegation chances predicted by supercomputer

Derby have a mixed run of fixtures coming up, which includes meetings with promotion-chasers Burnley and fellow relegation candidates Luton.

Ahead of Championship football returning next week, the Rams have been given a 34.54 percent chance of being relegated by Opta’s supercomputer.

Plymouth (97 percent) and Luton (81.22 percent) are the two sides most likely to join Derby in League One next season.

But there is not much separating Eustace’s men and Cardiff, who have a 34.32 percent chance of going down.