Sky Sports pundit fires Derby County warning that John Eustace must fix | OneFootball

The Sky Sports pundit has warned the Rams that they must start scoring from open play otherwise relegation will become a reality.

Don Goodman has warned Derby County that they must start scoring from open play, otherwise relegation back to League One will become a reality.

The Rams welcome Oxford United to Pride Park Stadium on Tuesday evening and will be hoping that they can secure their first win of 2025 after picking up their first point since Boxing Day on Saturday afternoon.

Jerry Yates' 92nd minute penalty against Norwich City at Carrow Road secured the East Midlands outfit a vital draw, just a day after Paul Warne was sacked following a run of seven successive Championship defeats.

The arrival of John Eustace at Derby is now imminent, and while Matt Hamshaw will take charge of the team against the U's, there are hopes that a victory could provide the solid platform for the 45-year-old to build from.

Goodman fires Derby relegation warning

The last few months have not been good enough for the Rams, and although the timing of Warne's sacking was strange, there was a strong feeling among supporters that it was coming.

Nevertheless, there are now renewed hopes that the team can drag themselves out of the relegation zone and push themselves towards survival. Eustace is getting closer and closer to becoming the new manager after Blackburn Rovers agreed to let him speak to the side that he played for over the course of two different spells.

However, he does have a tough job on his hands. Speaking to OLBG, Sky Sports Pundit, Don Goodman, has warned Derby of the danger they are in after suggesting earlier in the season that this situation was due to happen despite their strong home form.

"Derby County were massively reliant on their home form and were massively reliant on set pieces," he started. "But now they've lost their last four home matches, lost six of their last eight home games and scored just one goal in their last five fixtures.

"The fear I had of Derby becoming overreliant on their home form is coming home to roost. You need to find alternative ways to score on a consistent basis. Derby have only scored 14 goals from open play in 30 Championship games. It cannot continue.

"Derby are a great example of how quickly things can change in the Championship. They were 14th after beating West Bromwich Albion on Boxing Day and sitting eight points clear of the drop zone. All of a sudden they've lost seven in a row and they're third bottom. That's how quickly things can turn."

He continued: "I feel for Paul Warne as he's one of the nicest men in football but he doesn't want to be remembered as that. He wants to be remembered as a successful Championship coach.

"You have to worry for Derby County."

Derby have time to turn things around

Although the situation is not the best for Derby, with 15 games left in the Championship, they have more than enough time to turn their season around and secure their second tier status for another year.

The 2024/25 campaign was never going to be straightforward for the Rams, but they have proven at different times since August that they can compete in the division and pick up victories.

Their 1-1 draw against Norwich proves this further, and had it not been for a controversial offside call on Lars-Jorgen Salvesen at Carrow Road, the East Midlands outfit may have taken all three points as the disallowed goal would have handed them a first-half lead.

In Eustace, Derby are getting one of the Championship's very best managers, and a move for the head coach of a team who are sixth in the division shows their ambition. However, results must be found to ensure that they do not return to League One.