Beating Rovers a spark for Eustace, while free agents vital, too

JOHN Eustace pinpointed Derby County's victory over his former club Blackburn Rovers as the turning point in the fight for survival and praised the impact made by four free agents.

- By LEIGH CURTIS

The Rams ended a run of 12 Championship games without a win when they beat Blackburn 2-1 at Pride Park Stadium on March 8.

Eustace had left Ewood Park to take over as Rams head coach in February following the sacking of Paul Warne and believes victory against Rovers was a key moment.

But he also pointed to the arrivals of Jeff Hendrick, Kemar Roofe and Erik Pieters on free transfers as important, while Martyn Waghorn also returned to lend a hand even though he was not registered to play.