John Eustace insists his Derby side have the fighting qualities to get out of trouble in the Championship despite dropping to the bottom of the table after their 1-0 defeat at Middlesbrough.
The Rams are now winless in 12 Championship games and Eustace has lost his first three since leaving Blackburn to take charge at Pride Park.
They looked set to pick up what would have been a crucial point at the Riverside but Finn Azaz struck the winner for Boro 10 minutes from time. It was another late blow for the Rams on the back of Millwall’s stoppage-time winner last week.
But Eustace insists he will take heart from his side’s display at Middlesbrough.
He said: “I’m really disappointed to lose the game. In the second half we weren’t troubled at all and I felt we’d go on and win the game if I’m being honest, especially in the last 10 minutes.
“So to concede in the way we did was really frustrating and disappointing. I sensed after an hour we could get something. I was very pleased with the structure, the way the team were defensively sound.”
The goal came when Aidan Morris pounced on some uncertainty in the Derby defence and crossed for Tommy Conway. The striker’s shot was blocked but Azaz was on hand to fire home the rebound.
Derby are now four points adrift of Championship safety but now have two home games against Eustace’s former side Blackburn and in-form Coventry.
Eustace said: “They lads are low, of course they are, they’re disappointed, but they still have to take a lot of positives from the game.
“The lads are all disappointed but what they showed from an attitude point of view is really pleasing and there’s still a lot of football to be played.
“I’ve only been here two weeks. We have to have a bit of realism. You can see the spirit and togetherness is there. It’s just the moments where we’ve let ourselves down with the quality and concentration.
“It’s just about keeping the level of concentration for the full 95 minutes. We have two home games coming up and we have to be really positive.”
Middlesbrough are just two points off the play-offs after winning back-to-back games for just the third time this season.
Michael Carrick’s side had lost five on the bounce and dropped into the bottom half of the table before crucial victories over Stoke and now Derby, and Carrick was delighted his side’s patience paid off against the Rams.
He said: “It’s a good feeling when you do it like that. It’s probably the type of game we haven’t capitalised on enough during the season.
“I’m delighted we found a way. I thought we played well in the first half and created some good chances and played some good football. The second half was a bit sticky but we kept going and it was a big goal for us.
“I thought we deserved to win the game but you still have to find a way.”
Carrick insisted he never lost belief despite his side’s slump in February.
He said: “We knew there was always going to be ups and downs to come. Hopefully there are a lot more ups to come now.
“We’re right in there, we have a fighting chance and we look forward to the run-in.”
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