Derby County will be a nightmare for relegation rivals as John Eustace's weapon is uncovered

Derby County made it four wins in a row with an eventually comfortable win over Preston North End at Pride Park on Wednesday night. After an admittedly underwhelming first period, the Rams struck twice in the space of four second half minutes thanks to fine goals from Craig Forsyth and Jerry Yates and the visitors never recovered.

For now, at least, the Rams find themselves out of the Championship relegation zone after this unforeseen burst under new boss Eustace, whose side didn't suffer from a lack of momentum following the international break and head to Swansea at the weekend in buoyant mood.

Here are the talking points.

No halting the Ram machine

Four wins in a row, but Derby were made to wait for this one because of the extended international break. That said, the wait wasn't quite as long as the last time they managed four consecutive wins at this level - they came between February and July 2020, spanning the length of the Covid pause and Project Restart.

Any concerns that the break might've stunted the Rams' momentum weren't eased by the first half performance here; it wasn't a great watch for either set of supporter, let alone any neutral who had wandered onto the Sky Sports+ coverage. Derby were disjointed, struggled to find any cohesion or rhythm and Preston weren't much better.

A half time team talk from Eustace clearly did the trick. Derby were up and at 'em at the beginning of the second half, having shaken off their initial rustiness and Preston couldn't live with their direct approach. Those four minutes practically sealed the game and continues the march.

Life in the old dog

At the grand old age of 36, Forsyth still looked the part here - and has done across scores of this campaign. The centre half might've been uncovered as a weapon Eustace can utilise in both penalty areas going forwards - this, after all, was his second goal under the new regime.

While the opener against Blackburn was messy - if not poignant, for a host of reasons, that day - and Forsyth slid the ball home after a set-piece wasn't cleared, this was something by comparison many top strikers would've been proud of producing.

Forsyth composed himself in a packed penalty area when bringing the ball under his control, and picked his spot, back across goal, before wheeling away in celebration. He enjoyed the moment, but then composed himself again and, from there, Forsyth's leadership qualities and aerial prowess were clear for all to see.

Foundation to build on

This was Derby's eighth clean sheet at Pride Park this season - and they've won seven of those matches. When your squad aren't in a desirable position in the league table, doing the basics at the back are the fundamental characteristics required to haul yourselves out of the situation you find yourselves in.

In Forsyth, Matt Clarke and Nat Phillips, Derby not only have a solid foundation with a back-line which boasts balance and physicality, but - as they proved perfectly here on Wednesday night - they can also then carry that threat into the opposing box for dead balls.

With three more home games to come, and two of them against direct relegation rivals Stoke City and Luton Town, possessing the capacity to keep clean sheets on home soil is an invaluable trait which'll go a long way to getting Derby to where they wish to be come May - and put the 'pride' back in Pride Park.

A psychological fillip

Eustace wasn't really having it after the game, and indicated that Derby could well find themselves back in the bottom three again unless they continue to carry out this good work at Swansea City on Saturday, but there is certainly an air of relief around the idea that they have lifted themselves out of the relegation zone.

For context, they have managed to spend a single game-week out of the bottom three since January, but that came as a result of the two draws following Paul Warne's departure. It's a mightily different feeling to climbing out of the drop zone now, with four wins under their belts and a clear methodology under the new management.

They now have more points in four matches than in the previous 21 games combined, stretching back to November - that in itself is an incredible statistic - and Derby can tackle these remaining seven league games looking up. Yes, they'll now have sides below them aiming for their spot, but what is clear is that this side are an entirely different animal now.

Will the Rams stay up? Have your say here

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