Sitting back last Saturday and looking forward to the Rams’ next couple of matches, I certainly felt just a touch of anxiety.

Some slightly indifferent form — a draw against Norwich and a defeat at Middlesbrough — had seen the Rams drop to 5th place. The upcoming match against Birmingham looked a little difficult; we always seem to have difficulty with them plus they were resurgent under new manager and former Rams defender Gary Rowett. Leeds at home was unpredictable: they are having a poor season, yet had beaten us in a solid manner at Elland Road in late November.

It felt to me as though changes might be needed, and I got my wish: in came John Eustace into midfield in place of Omar Mascarell. The result was a comfortable 4-0 win at Birmingham in uncomfortable conditions, and a 2-0 win — which perhaps should have been bigger - against Leeds.

Eustace, of course, was not supposed to be in the Rams’ plans this season. At the back end of last season, John lost his place to the excellent George Thorne, and George was signed expensively as the centrepiece of the Rams’ summer building.

Of course, it went horribly wrong when Thorne was badly injured during pre-season, to the extent of being likely to miss most of this season; and so Eustace was once more in the Rams’ plans.

But so was Omar Mascarell: the young midfield player was signed on loan for the season from Spanish giants Real Madrid, to give the Rams an alternative to Eustace in the defensive midfield position. The two have chopped and changed during the team’s league matches so far, with Eustace playing 12 matches (all starts) and Mascarell 12 starts and 4 substitute appearances.

I’ve had the feeling that Steve McClaren would prefer to play Mascarell than Eustace: he is certainly a talented player, and the Spanish connection gives him an air of glamour. There is also the feeling, I think, that he may be destined for greatness; something that the thirty-five year old Eustace no longer is; at least as a player.

The message boards too have a tendency to play down the usefulness that John Eustace may have for the Rams, and call for the inclusion of Mascarell instead. There may be times when John must feel like quoting the late comedian Rodney Dangerfield; “I don’t get no respect.”

I took a look at Eustace’s career, and was surprised to see just what a strong pedigree he has, and the extent to which he is somewhat of a Steve McClaren type of player.

Eustace came up through the ranks at Coventry, then a Premier League club, and made a total of 85 Premier League appearances for them. During his time at Coventry he also spent a short time on loan at Steve McClaren’s Middlesbrough and made one Premier League substitute appearance for them.

Since then, Eustace’s football has all been in the second tier, with 74 appearances for Stoke, 157 for Watford and 56 (including 9 in an earlier loan spell) with the Rams. The one exception was eight League Two games in a loan spell with Hereford back in 2006.

The simple fact is that there is not a current Derby County player who can produce as strong a CV as John Eustace. In over 400 appearances, spread over sixteen years, he has demonstrated considerable durability and clearly knows how it’s done at this level.

Eustace has started twelve league matches for the Rams this season, and been on the losing side only once; against Wigan. He may have been the scapegoat for that defeat, since he missed the next eight matches before the Birmingham game. The team’s record is markedly better — particularly the defensive record - with Eustace playing instead of Mascarell.

Like all Rams fans, I am looking forward to a fully fit George Thorne being back in the team. Until then, the admirable John Eustace will continue to do all that is asked of him.

If more had been asked of him, the Rams’ position might have been even better right now.

Photo: Action Images

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