Derby County midfielder Ebou Adams has apologised to the club’s travelling supporters following their crushing 4-0 defeat against Queens Park Rangers on Friday night.
The heavy loss marked a disastrous start to John Eustace’s tenure as manager, with the Rams failing to deliver an immediate response under their new boss.
QPR Emphatic
Despite some promising early moments, Derby were undone by an emphatic QPR performance. A brace from Ilias Chair, a goal from Koki Saito, and a fourth from Southampton loanee Ronnie Edwards sealed a miserable evening for the Rams.
Adams, who started the match before being substituted late on, admitted the performance was far from acceptable and expressed regret for the supporters who made the trip to London.
“We’ve got a week to work now, we have to look at ourselves as players and we’ve got to take responsibility for that performance. We have to apologise to the travelling fans that came here. We’ll now use that week to build and put this behind us and hopefully turn it on its head.”
Derby’s Struggles Continue
The defeat to QPR extended Derby’s dismal run, with the club having collected just two points from their last 30 available. The Rams, who were once considered promotion hopefuls, now find themselves in a precarious position and in desperate need of a turnaround.
Adams admitted that while Derby started reasonably well, mistakes proved costly and severely impacted the team’s confidence.
“I think we were doing all right in the first 15 minutes and a mistake led to the first goal. After that, it feels like we really dropped our heads and we gave them too many opportunities and lost too many duels, which they took advantage of. It’s a bad day at the office.”
Time to Regroup Under Eustace
With a full week to prepare before their next fixture, Adams insists that Derby must use this time effectively to rectify their mistakes and improve.
“We’re going to have to put the game behind us and look at what mistakes we’ve made, what we could work on and then move on quickly, because we’re in a situation we don’t want to be in,” he said.
New manager John Eustace will be tasked with lifting morale and implementing his ideas ahead of Derby’s next challenge. The Rams must show a strong response if they are to pull themselves out of their current slump.
Writer’s View
Derby County’s performance against QPR was simply not good enough, and Ebou Adams’ apology highlights the squad’s awareness of their shortcomings. However, words alone will not be enough—John Eustace must quickly instil resilience and discipline in this side. If Derby fail to respond in the coming weeks, their season could spiral further into disappointment.
