Derby favourite highlights one major problem and says 'it's surprised me'

Jeff Hendrick says John Eustace will "leave no stone unturned" in a bid to get Derby County motoring up the league table after the international break.

Derby go into the three-week break in the Championship's bottom three in a start that has mirrored that of last season, following a dramatic summer of 10 signings and Turki Alalshikh's collapsed takeover. Injuries have also bit hard at Pride Park with eight players on the treatment table which has deprived him of some key players in Matt Clarke, Patrick Agyemang, Derry Murkin and Eiran Cashin.

But Hendrick, who rejoined the club for a brief spell as the club successfully fended off relegation under Eustace in his first season, is convinced his old boss will get them firing again.

"It's a bit of a surprise because since John Eustace took over, he's done so well, kept them up, and then the next year they weren’t far off the play-offs," he told Andy's Bet Club.

"He plays a different style to a lot of teams in the Championship now, a lot of teams play total football, whereas he changed it and goes forward a bit quicker. Again, the main thing he did was make them hard to beat and really good defensively, keeping them in every game and giving themselves a chance to get a draw or a late win.

"For him to have this start surprised me. He's had time now and got his players in. I know the fans well there, they won't be happy with it and there'll be pressure on him. But he's a calm guy whose work does the talking for him. He leaves no stone unturned and puts the hours in. When I went back for a couple of weeks, I saw him in at 6am until 6pm or 7pm, rewatching training and going through everything.

"So he's going to put the time in, it's just how he turns it around on the pitch. Maybe he was too defensive and they weren't controlling games as much from the front foot. If he can strip that back a little bit and have players who control the tempo a bit more, that might help him."

Sam Szmodics is currently the leading scorer with three goals after an impressive start, but Hendrick says Derby will need to help take the load off him.

"I think he's another one of those players where you check the fixtures and see he's scored again, Sammie Szmodics is a reliable goalscorer," he said. "But for me, if you want to do well, you can't just rely on one player. You need other players scoring.

"Maybe with the way they're playing and the chances they're creating, Sammie knows how to be in the right place a lot of the time, but if he gets an injury, you need other players to step up and fill that void. You don't want to put all the pressure on him."

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