The Championship table since John Eustace replaced Paul Warne at Derby County | OneFootball

We looked at where Derby County rank in the Championship table since John Eustace replaced Paul Warne at Pride Park.

It has been a strong start to life at Derby County for new head coach John Eustace since he replaced Paul Warne in February.

Warne led Derby to automatic promotion from League One last season, and after a decent first half of the campaign in the Championship, his side sat as high as 14th in the table after a 2-1 win over West Bromwich Albion on Boxing Day.

At that stage, it looked as though the Rams were set for a comfortable mid-table season, but a dismal run of seven consecutive defeats between December and February saw them drop into the relegation zone, piling the pressure on Warne.

Despite allowing Warne to bring in four new signings in January, owner David Clowes decided to make a managerial change just days after the closure of the transfer window, leaving many to question the timing of the decision.

Matt Hamshaw took interim charge after Warne's exit, and Derby picked up important draws against Norwich City and Oxford United under his guidance before John Eustace was named as the club's new head coach, with the 45-year-old opting to swap a play-off push at Blackburn Rovers to take over at Pride Park, where he spent two years as a player.

John Eustace's record as Derby County head coach so far

The back-to-back draws under Hamshaw meant that Derby sat outside the relegation zone on goal difference when Eustace arrived, but he endured a nightmare start to his tenure.

Eustace watched his new team suffer a comprehensive 4-0 defeat at Queens Park Rangers in his first game in charge, and further losses against Millwall and Middlesbrough followed, leaving the Rams sitting bottom of the table and a daunting seven points from safety.

However, just as some were starting to write Derby off, Eustace then picked up his first victory with a 2-1 win over former club Blackburn, and his side backed that up with another three maximums against Coventry City, Plymouth Argyle and Preston North End to move out of the bottom three.

The Rams' momentum was disrupted slightly as they were beaten 1-0 at Swansea City on Saturday, but they responded positively to that setback with a 0-0 draw at home to second-placed Burnley at Pride Park on Tuesday night, and Eustace's men had their chances to win the game.

With five games of the season remaining, Derby currently sit 21st in the table, and they are only outside the relegation zone on goal difference ahead of a huge game against 17th-placed Portsmouth, who are just three points above them, at Fratton Park on Saturday.

Championship table since John Eustace replaced Paul Warne at Derby County

While Derby's lowly league position means that a tense end to the season is ahead for supporters, their form since Eustace replaced Warne should give them plenty of reason for optimism.

Since Eustace's arrival at Pride Park in February, the Rams have picked up 13 points from nine games, which would place them 12th in the Championship table if it was calculated from the day of his appointment.

In the same timeframe, Burnley have picked up the most points in the division with 21, followed by Bristol City and Coventry (18), Millwall (17) and Leeds United, Middlesbrough and Sheffield United (16).

In contrast, Eustace's former club Blackburn have performed worse than any other team in the second tier after a disastrous start to life under his replacement, Valerien Ismael, accumulating just five points, followed by Oxford (seven), Sheffield Wednesday and QPR (eight) and Plymouth and Preston (nine).

Derby face plenty of high-pressure games in the coming weeks, with crucial fixtures against fellow strugglers Portsmouth, Luton Town, Hull City and Stoke City to come before the end of the season, as well as a trip to play-off chasing West Brom, but having produced mid-table form since Eustace took over, they will be hopeful that they can retain their Championship status.