John Eustace's win percentage at Blackburn Rovers and Birmingham City as Derby County switch nears | OneFootball

The Rams look set to appoint the 45-year-old after Paul Warne's departure earlier this month

John Eustace’s switch to Derby County is nearing its confirmation, with the 45-year-old leaving play-off chasing Blackburn Rovers to take over at the relegation-threatened Rams.

The Rovers boss is said to have reached the end of his tether with the hierarchy at Ewood Park, with a lack of support from the Venky’s ownership group cited as the reason to leave a side he had guided into a top six place in the Championship.

The deal is something of a coup for County, who have a man considered to be one of the top bosses in the EFL taking charge at a crucial point in their season, following the dismissal of Paul Warne last Friday.

There will be high hopes at Pride Park once the deal is complete, and here we take a look at Eustace’s previous two roles in the second tier with Birmingham and Blackburn, and look at how he fared in each position.

John Eustace’s Blackburn Rovers managerial record

Eustace has been in the role in Lancashire for exactly 12 months, having taken over from the similarly dispirited Jon Dahl Tomasson in February 2023, with the Dane also exasperated with things behind closed doors at Ewood Park.

A 3-1 win over Stoke City got his tenure off to the perfect start, before going down 1-0 to his previous employers Birmingham three days later, which sparked a winless run of nine league games until the start of April.

Things were anything but plain sailing in those early days, with the threat of relegation always looming in their rear-view mirror, before three wins in the final seven games of the Championship season saw them breathe easy over the summer.

Things looked like they had turned a corner in the current campaign, with no defeat in the opening seven league games of the season seeing Rovers come flying out of the blocks, with initial hopes of a promotion campaign starting to grow.

A tricky period of one win in seven was soon followed up by six wins on the bounce in the buildup to Christmas, before the relationship between manager and the board took a turn for the worse, and Eustace edging nearer and nearer to the exit door.

Rovers are currently on a run of two league wins in eleven games right now, with the mood in Lancashire souring by the day, despite them sitting in the final play-off place at time of writing.

Overall, Eustace has a record of 17 wins from his 48 league games in charge, with a further 14 draws and 17 defeats, which sums up a tumultuous time in the dugout of the former Premier League Champions, with a win percentage of 35.4%.

John Eustace’s Birmingham City Championship win percentage

There seems to be a theme with Eustace and poor ownership, with his time with Birmingham City also being tarnished by the powers that be at St Andrew’s.

Having been in charge between the summer of 2022 and October 2023, he had the Blues safely in lower mid table during his first season with the club, before winning five of the first eleven matches of the 23/24 Championship campaign before being shown the door.

The official line that was given was a ‘misalignment with the leadership of the club’, which once again pointed towards the club’s hierarchy tying to meddle in first-team matters, which left the board and manager at loggerheads.

City were sixth in the second tier at the time of Eustace’s dismissal, and quickly plummeted towards the relegation zone after replacing him with Wayne Rooney, which is exactly the reason they now find themselves in the third tier.

Overall, the Blues won 19 of their 57 league games under Eustace, although things looked much more promising at the start of his second campaign in charge, and that figure would likely have grown as time went on.

14 draws and 24 defeats saw the former Kidderminster Harriers boss pick up an average of 1.25 points per game during his time at St Andrew’s, with a win percentage of 33.3%.

When you equate that to the Derby County team that Eustace is about to inherit, it makes for good reading, with the Rams picking up just 0.91 points per game this season so far, with a win percentage of 21.8%.

Things just need a slight tweak here and there, and Eustace could help to solve County’s relegation fears this season, with his track record proving he has what it takes to turn things around.