As Birmingham come to town, the themes are familiar: patience, time and the need to build consistency and chemistry. It is, John Eustace says, “very similar” to last season’s start. Instability is the enemy for any manager, and Eustace is no different. It is difficult to manage a side who have lost thirty goals from last season in the shape of the injured Carlton Morris and Patrick Agyemang, as well as former loanee Ben Brereton Díaz. But he concedes that “people aren’t in

Bearing down on goal, Bobby Clark takes a subtle touch to take the ball away from Middlesbrough’s Matt Targett. With Lars-Jørgen Salvesen having leapt out of the way, Clark lines up his shot and drills it low past Sol Brynn. A first league goal to start 2026 with a win. A moment of magic from the midfielder that decided a gritty, backs-to-the-wall display. Clark was billed as a creator, a playmaker, a technician. He is all of those things but also showed more grit and det

Spring is in the air, and there’s a spring in Derby’s step too. That’s now four straight Championship home wins for the first time since February 2021 for Derby, and the 1-0 victory over Birmingham City seemed sweeter than most for John Eustace. At Thursday’s Fan’s Forum he revealed a liking for Oasis songs. While the former Blues boss won’t look back in anger , he did find time to take subtle swipe at the Birmingham owners. Knighthead cited their desire for a ‘no fear’

If anyone needed evidence of why John Eustace’s “we don’t get too high or too low” mantra matters, here it was.