John Eustace, Manager of Derby Countyplaceholder image
John Eustace, Manager of Derby County | Getty Images
PNE make the trip over to Pride Park on Saturday
Derby County boss John Eustace will not be giving Harrison Armstrong a welcome hug back to Pride Park this weekend.
The Preston North End loan man spent the second half of last campaign with the Rams, making 15 appearances as they fought off relegation. Derby were reportedly back in for his signature this summer but PNE won the race for the Everton man on deadline day.
The midfielder made his debut off the bench in last weekend’s draw with Middlesbrough. Ahead of Saturday’s game, Eustace was asked by in-house media if it will be nice to see the teenager. It was very much game face on from the Rams manager.
Smiling, he said: “No, it won’t be nice to see him, no not at all. Listen, H was a great player for us last year. We were really pleased with him and the way he developed was sensational, really.
“For such a young player to take that level of responsibility on his shoulders and help us stay in the league last year was great. We wish him all the best, but not for Saturday.”
On PNE and this weekend, Eustace added: “It has been a good start. They’ve had some fantastic wins already. They are a very experienced group, they’ve recruited really well again and they’ve got a top manager there in Paul.
“So, it is going to be a really difficult game but a game we are looking forward to. We always love playing in front of the home fans. They have been fantastic since I joined the club and they are going to be right behind the boys.
“We have had a couple of difficult home games already and they’ve been right behind us. They got us that last minute equaliser against Bristol (City), four weeks ago, and we want to do the fans proud, home and away.”
The Rams are expected to remain without Owen Beck - whom Eustace had at Blackburn Rovers last season. Summer signing Rhian Brewster is sidelined while the match looks like it will come too soon for duo Sondre Longas and Corey Blackett-Taylor.
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