John Eustace must stop this one serious Derby County issue - if not, relegation to League One looms | OneFootball

The Rams have struggled to keep teams at bay until the final whistle, and this is having a huge impact on their chances of staying up.

John Eustace has had a difficult start to life at Derby County, and after a 4-0 drubbing away to QPR during his first game as head coach, he would have been hoping that Pride Park was going to provide some home comforts on Saturday.

However, Josh Coburn's 95th-minute winner saw Millwall inflict another hammer blow on the Rams' survival chances, with the loss dropping the East Midlands outfit down one place to 23rd.

The defeat was Derby's eighth in the Championship in 2025 from just 10 matches, and the free fall that the team have been on looks set to continue, with goals at the right end few and far between.

Eustace has a mountain to climb with his new side and instilling confidence into a club that is completely devoid of it is going to be an exceptionally tough task, and conceding more late goals will only enhance the feeling of helplessness that has infected Pride Park in the last few months.

Derby are conceding late in both halves

The Rams were extraordinary defensively in their promotion campaign in 2023/24, but the majority of the back four and the goalkeeper that helped the team into the Championship are now nowhere to be seen in DE24.

Just one of those from the defensive unit who played a role in Derby's promotion last season started against Millwall on Saturday. Ryan Nyambe, who is still coming back to 100% fitness after he suffered a knee injury in October, played the full 90 minutes at the weekend while Sondre Langas, Matt Clarke and Ben Osborn completed the back line.

Injuries have been a constant issue for the Rams over the last couple of years, and this season the problem has been exacerbated, leaving both Paul Warne and now Eustace without true knowledge of his team week in week out.

This has perhaps led to Derby's issues in the defensive third, and letting in late goals could be seen as a symptom of this chopping and changing.

20 of the 47 goals that the team have conceded in the Championship have come in the final 15 minutes of both halves and this has cost them greatly already.

Defeats to Millwall, Luton Town, Sheffield Wednesday and Stoke City could have all been avoided had the Rams kept up concentration levels in the final moments of games. The points that would have been gained from those matches would be enough to take the club out of the bottom three.

Eustace has to stop Derby from conceding late on

Finding the right balance between defence and attack during the final stages of games is crucial to the Rams' survival.

At the moment, Derby are losing far too many games and, while the difference between themselves and their opponents does not seem to be overly large for the most part based on the scoreline, defeats are defeats and, either way, they are coming out of matches without points.

Fitness has been an issue throughout the campaign, and the Rams often look jaded in the final moments of games. Ensuring that the team remains fresh in these key minutes is a must and therefore substitutions must come on at the correct times and make a difference when they do.

Derby have struggled to cope under pressure on a consistent basis, but scoring before this is allowed to happen will only help.

If Eustace's side continue to be picked off in the final moments of matches, then relegation back to League One at the first time of asking will become the reality that every supporter feared.