Duo touted for backroom team at Derby County ahead of John Eustace appointment
John Eustace’s key lieutenants at Blackburn Rovers are being tipped to follow him from Ewood Park to Derby County once his appointment as manager is confirmed.
An announcement on Eustace’s arrival at Pride Park as a replacement for the sacked Paul Warne is expected at any time.
And now Matt Gardiner and Keith Downing, who worked with Eustace at Birmingham City before following him to Blackburn, are reported to be ready to make the move south too.
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According to Sky Sports’ Rob Dorsett, the pair will follow the 45-year-old to Pride Park in the next few days to remain a part of his coaching staff.
He adds on X: “Downing and Gardiner have both worked with Eustace as assistant coaches at Birmingham City and Blackburn.
“They are very experienced at this level and have also worked with the likes of Steven Schumacher, Steve McClaren and Mark Warburton.
“Gardiner and Downing will follow him from Rovers to Derby, but it is not clear yet if they will take the Rovers side at West Brom tonight (Wednesday) in the Championship.”
Warne’s assistant at Pride Park, Matt Hamshaw, has been in interim charge of the Rams since his dismissal on Friday. In that time he has overseen creditable draws against Norwich and Oxford, ending a run of seven successive Championship defeats that finally ended Warne’s time at Pride Park.
Goalkeeping coach Andy Warrington, under-21s lead coach Jake Buxton and assistant under-18s coach Bradley Johnson have been working with him.
Reports suggesting Downing and Gardiner are also about to decamp to Derby will cause even more angst at Blackburn where fans have already criticised the club for potentially losing a manager to a relegation-threatened team when Rovers are in the top-six play-off places ahead of tonight’s game and could go fifth with victory over Albion.
